She's That Kind of Woman
by Forfun100
Summary: She will always be that to them-she, the other, different-but differences are what hold the world together or tear it apart. This other will be the downfall they never saw coming: the Queen who has come to burn his kingdom down. A fix-it-fic, AKA that time sexual harassment saved the world. AU
1. Chapter 1

**I just love these goobers so much, sue me.**

**Also shout out to irithyll for listening to me never shut up about Valenfield.**

There's a lot of things in Jill's life that she can't honestly say she saw coming; in fact, her whole life felt like god just threw a few darts around to see how shit would turn out. But the fact that she's not only lived long enough to reach twenty-two, but that she's now a law enforcement agent stops her dead in her tracks that morning. Who could have ever seen this coming? Jill Valentine, a STARS agent. What a life she's had.

The sun is warm on her neck despite the cold March air curling around her figure as she stares up at the RPD. Sure, it's been her office for just about a month now, but the reality of it all has barely landed on her shoulders. Who'd have thought that she was cut out for the life she's managed to make for herself?

"Morning, Jill."

"Marvin." She acknowledges him as a way of shaking herself back into reality.

"Everything alright?" He's stopped on the stairs, turning back as he's noticed her hesitance.

"Oh yeah, just kind of lost myself for a second." She assures him, walking into the door he's held open for her, "Have a good day."

"You too." He chuckles with a shake of his head.

The STARS office is empty as it always is at the top of the hour, though she already hears Wesker shuffling through papers in his office. She's pretty certain he never sleeps, or maybe he sleeps standing up like a horse, one of those people who takes naps instead of sleeping a whole night.

She pulls out her own files, taking her seat without ceremony as Barry walks in the door. "Morning Jill."

"Morning Barry, how are you?" She returns, glancing up to catch both Enrico and Brad walking in, shoulders slumped with tiredness.

"I'm alright, you ready for your first training as a STARS member?" He teases walking up to her desk.

"Do you mean am I ready to kick your ass today?" She smirks, "Because I like you Barry, it's gonna be sad for me to see you beaten."

"Bold words, Valentine." Enrico chuckles setting his things down.

"I'm a bold woman." She laughs with him.

"Just don't get partnered with Brad. I don't think he can handle much more trauma."

"Get off your own dick Enrico." Brad snorts taking a seat at his own desk, "But also, Jill would probably kill me on accident, so I see your point."

"You'd thank me for it too." She winks standing up to deliver a file to Wesker's office.

"Atta girl." Barry snorts, turning towards Enrico.

Just as she's about to enter Wesker's office he opens the door, nearly smacking her in the face with it. Barely acknowledging her, he directs his attention towards the rest of the office.

"Enrico, a moment." He says bruskly sparing a glance towards Jill only after the other man has approached.

"Documents from yesterday's report, sir." She says holding out the file to him. He nods but says nothing as he and Enrico disappear back into his office.

There's a low groan that draws Jill's gaze over to none other than Chris Redfield slugging his way into the office and towards their desks.

"Morning." She chuckles, watching as a yawn overtakes him.

"Sorry." He responds tiredly.

"How on earth did you survive morning drills in your Air Force days with an attitude like that?" She teases walking back to their desks.

"Clearly I didn't, all things considered." He chuckles taking a seat, his glassy eyes lock with hers. She fights the instinct to bite her lip as he does so. Jill's not the kind of girl to get involved with office romances...or romances at _all_, but _damn_, if she did…

"Don't worry, Wesker will beat that attitude right out of you." Barry comments boredly.

"He can fucking try." Chris scoffs taking a swig of coffee from his thermos.

"Have many tried and never succeeded?" She asks, passing a smile to Edward and Richard as they too waltz into the office.

"Damn right," Chris shakes his head, turning towards the stack of assignments he's yet to sort through.

Despite herself, she takes a moment to stare, the long sharp lines of his features and how effortlessly soft that look in his eye is. Oh yeah, if she _were_ the type to fall in love, she could picture herself falling for this one, _hard._ It's a good thing they're friends, that all of the STARS members are her friends, otherwise she'd be playing a very dangerous game.

Sure, she's used to being the only woman in a room, she's also used to being the toughest, most determined, hardest working of the bunch. Such is the life of breaking into a man's world, and she likes it that way; likes always knowing her place and then proving them wrong. She's the woman her father raised, she wears that shit with pride.

Chris very nearly catches her staring, but if he does, he doesn't call her out for it. Instead the last of the STARS members trickle in slowly, soon the office is filled with the clicking of typewriter keys and scratching pens. Practically therapeutic and mind-numbing work that makes Jill almost forget it's training day. _Almost_.

One o'clock comes and Wesker steps out of his office, issuing instructions to meet at a local boxing gym, Jill leans over her desk as he speaks.

"Hey, where is that?" She asks Chris lowly.

"I can take you." He responds just as softly, not moving his gaze from Wesker.

"Thanks." She smirks waiting for Wesker to finish his little speech. She hates that Wesker wears those damn sunglasses inside, it's like he doesn't want anyone to know he's a person. Maybe it's for the best she doesn't see him as human, but he's her Captain for Christ's sake. Can the guy be anymore closed off?

"I expect everyone there and ready to go in 15 minutes." He says turning back into his own office without a second to spare.

"Worse than my damn mom." Edward chuckles.

"I can just imagine." Chris laughs grabbing his keys and flipping them in his hand.

"Don't talk about Jill that way." Richard teases with a snort, to which Jill immediately flips him off as she backs out of the office.

"Ready to be one of the boys, Valentine?" Chris asks with a chuckle.

"I think you boys should really woman up if you want my honest opinion." She tells him, holding the door to the parking garage open for him.

"Oh? Maybe I should." He snorts, "Don't mind the mess, it's my sister's shit mostly." He claims as he unlocks the car, Jill wrinkles her nose as she opens the door.

"So your sister exclusively eats fast food?" She asks tossing a bag of garbage into the back seat.

"What can I say? She's a growing girl, about to graduate high school and everything." He snorts, "Also she's missing her eye liner let me know if you find it."

"Noted and acknowledged." She chuckles rummaging through her bag just to make sure she has everything.

"So, you like Raccoon city so far?" He asks, pulling out of the space.

"I think so…" She lets out a breathy sigh, "It's nothing like I'm used to, but I think I like it that way."

"What are you used to? Don't tell me that Jill Valentine is country bumpkin."

"As fucking _if_!" She lets out a barking laugh, "I grew up in Denver."

"Ah, that explains about 80% of your personality." He says in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh, does it?"

"You bet your ass."

"Tell me how." She folds her arms, interested to hear his answer.

"Army, outdoorsy – don't give me that look you're a hiker I've got you pegged."

"Do you?" She asks with a raised brow and he blushes instantly.

"Not like that!" He says quickly, though Jill has already burst into boisterous laughter. "Fuck me."

"Apparently you're doing the fucking."

"Stop it." He shakes his head. "I also like to hike so I just know okay?"

"Maybe you could join me on a hike then, I haven't braved the Arklays yet." She speaks so easily she almost doesn't realize what she's asked until a second of silence settles in the car. Just as she's about to take it back he nods.

"Yeah, for sure, maybe closer to May it's still pretty cold this time of year." He says it like the words mean nothing and Jill feels relief fill her up inside, thank _god _he didn't think of it as a date.

They pull into the gym parking lot just as he's accepting her offer, and in they waltz to kick some ass. Going their separate ways, Jill finds herself alone in the women's locker room, she feels a sense of nervousness fall on her shoulders. What on Earth could she have to be nervous about? Blaming the feeling on just being the new kid on the block, she hurriedly changes into her work out clothes.

The guys are all ready when she emerges, Joseph has Brad over his shoulders like a sack of potatoes, Chris, Kenneth, and Edward sit by egging them on. Barry is trying to get them to stop before Wesker can chew them out, but they show no signs of stopping their dickery. Richard sees Jill first and beckons her over to him and Forest.

"Why?" She asks.

"Showboating before they make fools of themselves." Richard chuckles.

"Cute." She smirks, "Where are our fearless leaders? It's been fifteen minutes."

"Probably sucking each other's dicks?" Forrest snorts.

"I don't think Wesker gives anything to anyone." Jill folds her arms eliciting a laugh from Richard.

"So cruel, yet so true." Richard agrees with her as Enrico walks in from the locker room with Wesker close behind, though not changed out of his typical uniform. Jill is beginning to wonder if that thing is glued to his body.

"Line up." Enrico orders taking one last look at his clip board while waiting for STARS to follow his orders.

It's silent for a moment, except for Brad and Joseph smacking each other's arms like little kids. Wesker takes a look at them it's hard to follow his gaze because of the sunglasses that must _also_ be glued to him; but Jill swears his gaze falls on her.

"Valentine take your shirt off." He says it so plainly that she almost isn't shocked by what he's said.

After a second of shock she manages to speak up, "Excuse me?"

He practically sighs, already on to the next thing in his own head. "Take your shirt off, it's too baggy and will get in your way."

"I don't think you can legally tell me to do that." She retorts, face quickly growing hot as she speaks.

"You can do as I say, or you can leave, your choice." Wesker seems bored arguing with her and nips it in the bud that very second.

Jill feels the gaze of her team on her, burning with furry and embarrassment she draws her mouth into a hard line. Stepping out of line, she makes the easy choice, the one where she pulls off the offending garment and chucks it at him. Cold air hits her shoulder blades instantly, and she's grateful that she's at least allowed to keep her damn bra.

He catches it easily, and she feels the harshness of his gaze from behind that stupid tinted glass. The smirk that forms on his lips is not lost on her as she gets back in line, neither is the low whistle from down the line.

"Forest, you have something to say?" Wesker asks looking towards the end of the line.

"No sir." He claims.

"In that case, Jill Forrest you're up first." Jill turns to Forest with hard steely eyes, he makes no attempt to hide his raking gaze.

"You ready to get your ass kicked?" She asks harshly.

"Sure am." He snorts, as if he doesn't believe her, how very typical. It's a simple spar really, but she'll be fucked if anyone thinks she'll go easy right out the gate.

They get in the ring facing one another. Jill's on offense, Forest on defense, she takes a deep breath trying to calm down so she doesn't actually kill him.

"Whenever you're ready." Enrico says stopwatch in hand. Jill takes one step forward practically throwing her right leg off the ground, Forest barely manages to catch it before her foot collides with his face. She'd been hoping for this as the second she feels his hand she jumps up twisting herself so that her other leg wraps around his neck.

He collapses on his back instantly while she deftly poises herself over him, one leg pinning each arm.

"Oh sorry, did I win?" She taunts, watching as he tries to catch the breath she stole. He says nothing, merely bucks his hips up to which she throws her elbows back and directly into his thighs.

"Fucking gah!" He shouts, hips dropping back. Jill doesn't have to take it one step further, but she does anyway. Grabbing each of his knees and pushing them so swiftly they knock against the floor; she gets right back in his face.

"Give up yet?" She asks.

"Fuck sure! God just get off of me!" Forest winces in pain as she stands up in one swift motion. "You could have killed me."

"That's kind of the point." She reminds him walking back to the others.

"Not in here it isn't." He grumbles pulling his legs back together agonizingly slow.

"Forrest, out of the ring." Wesker says with the closest thing to a smile Jill's ever seen on his face.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" Chris asks.

"Is Denver a sufficient answer?" She smirks prompting him to laugh as she climbs out of the ring herself.

"Remind me to visit." He looks like he didn't mean to say it, or maybe he's just checking her out in leggings and a bra. She can't say she minds either option, but she has to keep up appearances.

"Eyes up here Redfield." She taps his chin to guide his gaze back up, nodding towards a still struggling Forest "Unless you're next."

She can't be certain she hears it, but she swears his response is, "Sign me up."

"Chris, Edward, you're up."

He's in the ring before she can say anything else and she thinks that's probably for the best. The rest of training goes by quickly, conditioning feels good and she notes boldly how she's finally breaking a sweat. By the end of it all she's using the shirt she'd discarded as a sweat towel, much to her annoyance that Wesker's insult actually benefited her somewhat.

Chris is waiting for her once she's changed back into her uniform, he's got a sideways smile that she'd call flirtatious if that were their dynamic.

"Ready to go, princess?"

"Don't call me princess." She pushes passed him, out the door he holds for her.

He chuckles, "Sorry, thought it was an appropriate mob name for you."

"Mob name, huh?" She asks getting into his car.

"Yeah, you know, the 'opposite-of-what-you-are' kind of deal?"

"Should I be offended or do you want to take it back?" She gives him a smirk to which he rubs the back of his neck.

"I'll uh, take that back."

"Good choice."

After a spell of silence, he speaks up, "Sorry Forest is a jackass."

"I'll apologize in a week." She waves him off.

"No really, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Chris."

"It wasn't fine, how he acted I mean."

She shakes her head, "It's hard for him to have me here, isn't it?"

"No, he just isn't capable of understanding human interaction. He didn't mean anything against you, I'm sure of it. Wesker, who the hell knows, but Forest is just an idiot."

She laughs at that, "I'm a big girl, Chris. I can handle myself."

"Clearly." He chuckles, "You nearly killed him."

"Gotta stop that kind of behavior when it pops up." She claims, "I was in the military, I've dealt with worse."

"That's not good."

"Nope." She pops the p, but Chris doesn't laugh. "Anyway, hopefully tomorrow's a slow day, I haven't worked out like that in months."

"Getting back on the horse?"

"Guess I really should find a gym."

"Who needs a gym when you could use the great outdoors, I for example, punch boulders for an hour straight every morning."

Laughing Jill turns towards him, "Somehow, coming from you, I believe it."

"Ooo my pride felt that one."

"Tell your pride I'm sorry." She smirks as they pull back into the parking garage, after directing him to her car she starts to get out.

"You have everything?"

"Yeah, thanks for the ride."

"Anytime."

Before she climbs out she turns to look at him, "Don't forget to take me hiking."

"Trust me, I won't." A second of quiet passes between them, nothing but soft smiles and nervous energy floating between them.

"Good." She says stepping out of the car, "I'll see you tomorrow, have a good night."

"You too." His voice is soft, as if he's barely able to get the words out.

As Jill climbs into her car she smiles to herself; she has always liked having _that_ _kind_ of power over men.


	2. Chapter 2

Jill does apologize to Forest exactly a week later, and he takes it in stride, at first.

"No, I shouldn't have been an asshole. I deserved it." He says.

"You're right." She says, getting a laugh out of the surrounding STARS members.

"Hey Forest, tell her the best part." Edward says from his desk.

"The best part?" She asks, confused.

"It's nothing." Forest says quickly.

"You tore his groin!" Richard proclaims from the other half of the office. Jill audibly gasps and slaps a hand over her mouth, everyone else bursts into laughter.

"It's not totally torn! Just strained! I'll be fine in a few weeks!" Forest quickly clarifies upon seeing her horrified face.

"Oh my god, Forest, I'm so sorry!" Jill says much more sincerely this time.

"No, it's fine, Jill, I'm fine." The two of them are flustered despite the bellowing laughter in the office.

"No, it's not fine! I'm so sorry. Oh my god!"

"No, I made it worse by doing conditioning after. Really what you did was not so bad!"

"Forest, are you kidding me?"

"Just don't ever mention this again and we're even." Forest says assuredly.

"She may never mention it again, but you bet your sweet little torn groin we are never letting you live this down." Chris says placing a hand on Jill's shoulder. "Don't feel so bad, it's not permanent and he had it coming."

"Dude!" Forest throws up his hands at Chris's statement.

"I am so sorry…" Not knowing what else to say and doing everything in her power not to look at the um… affected area, Jill swiftly returns to her desk.

The office doesn't let either of them live that one down and Jill finds herself desperate for the weekend.

That Saturday, Barry invites the STARS team to his daughter's 5th birthday party; it's at the local park and there's a promise of beer. Jill says yes because it's about _damn_ time she get out of her apartment for more than the grocery store. She even got a pool together with the guys to buy Moira a gift. She allows herself to get a bit excited at the idea of going out, even if it is for a kid's birthday party.

So of course, that Saturday happens to be the first hot day Raccoon City sees this year, and she can't justify jeans in this weather. Deciding that she can't bring herself to give a shit, she pulls on jean shorts and a tank top. Electing to ignore the voice of her mother in the back of her head screaming, "I raised you better than that Jill Valentine," she heads out the door.

The longer she drives, the shorter her shorts feel, and starting to regret the amount of thigh she's revealing so deeply she nearly turns around.

"Get your shit together, Valentine. It is an outfit." She scolds herself, pulling into a sport right beside the park filled to the brim with children and jumping balloons. Still, it takes a second for her to gather the courage to climb out of the car. After a deep breath and an internal pep talk, she grabs the present and makes an appearance.

The guys are at one of the picnic tables farther from the kids running wild. The party theme seems to be a cross of dinosaurs and princesses. Jill would have had a party like this, had she been the type of kid to have birthday parties.

"Shut up asshole!" She hears Chris shout as she approaches the table.

"Hey guys." She says fighting to keep her tone even and noticing Barry's raised brow at the gift in her hand she presents it to him. "We all pitched in."

"You didn't have to." He says with a smile standing to take the gift from her, "But thank you, really."

"Of course."

"Can I get you a drink?"

"Uh sure, thanks." She says, trying her best to swallow her nerves.

"Beer good?"

"Yeah." She affirms before he walks towards a gift stacked high with gifts. "How are you guys?"

"Some better than others." Richard teases, slapping Chris's shoulder.

"What's that mean?" She takes the empty seat beside Chris who seems to be glaring at Richard.

"My brain gave up for a second, but we're back to our regularly scheduled programing." Chris lets out a stale laugh.

"It's the heat getting to him. Happens in animals with low intellect." Forest scoffs.

"Aw, don't be mean to Chris." She chuckles as Barry hands her the beer.

"Good freaking luck, I've been trying to get them to settle down for the past hour." Barry snorts.

"Well, you wouldn't let us play in the bouncy castle and now we're grumpy." Edward claims innocently.

"Do you also want a sugar rush with that?" Brad asks.

"Oh, any day of the week." Joseph chuckles before taking a drink from his beer.

A woman strolls up to the table with a young girl perched on her hip and a smile plain on her face. "Hi everyone, we've got pizza and salad if you're hungry."

"Awesome!" Brad hops up and starts heading over to the table crowded with parents. After a bout of awkward laughter Edward, Joseph, Kenneth, and Frost follow suit. Richard stops to thank her before taking up the rear of the group.

Barry walks up to the woman and takes the baby out of her arms, "I haven't introduced you to Jill, newest member of STARS. Jill this is my wife, Kathy." Jill stands up slowly, pulling at the hem of her shorts before shaking the woman's hand.

"Pleasure to finally meet you." Kathy says sweetly.

"Nice to meet you too." Jill says with a smile. Chris hangs back behind her as if he's trying to be casual.

"You must really be something to be recruited for STARS." Kathy folds her arms, "I heard there was some stiff competition."

"I guess that means all of us are something really, just don't tell Vickers, it'll go to his head." Jill smirks.

"I'll keep that in mind." Kathy chuckles, "How are you Chris?"

"I'm great. You really know how to throw a good ol' fashion princess-dinosaur party, Mrs. Burton." Chris tells her confidently.

"You're not one of the kids you know." She shakes her head.

"He knows." Barry smirks before kissing his daughter's cheek. "You guys should get some food before it's gone."

"The question is who takes it all, the kids or the guys?" Jill crosses her arms playfully.

"The bears at this rate, get a move on Valentine." Chris jeers at her.

"I'd say make me, but I know better than to get in your way when food is involved." She laughs walking with him towards the pile of pizza boxes.

"Think you know me so well already?" Chris chuckles. She swears she hears a catch in his throat as he speaks but brushes it off to save him the embarrassment.

"I do actually."

"Uhuh, you _think _you know me."

"You believe what you want." She teases, picking up a paper plate. She turns in enough time to see him roll his eyes. "Where's Claire?"

"Oh, she's with some friends. Didn't seem to think this was the happening place for a group of teens."

"How wrong she was." Jill says holding up a napkin, "Unless you're telling me teen girls don't like dino-napkins."

"It's an unfortunate truth."

"Mankind truly has fallen, no wonder god has abandoned us." She laughs waiting for him to finish dishing up.

"Oh, there's still hope." He says it lowly, barely glancing at her, as if embarrassed.

"Pray tell." She eggs him on, but his face flushes bright red as if the sun zapped him right where he stands.

"Well, I mean, Moira's a cool kid, clearly." He says, voice just a note higher than she's used to.

"Okay, but she's five." Jill tries again. Chris is cute when he's squirming under scrutiny.

"More time to grow up and save the world." He claims, quickening his pace to sit at the table.

"Uhuh." She says to no one in particular. Chris is also cute from the back…

"I'm just saying, you look like the kind of kid I would have beat up in high school." Edward is laughing when she reaches the table. "I mean, service straightened me out, but damn Brad, get it together."

"Guaranteed, if we knew each other in high school, you would have beat me up. I was a huge loser." Brad agrees with a chuckle.

"Oh god don't make me think about high school." Forest has his face in his hands, "I was that asshole who annoyed teachers for the hell of it and made everyone else go down with me."

"That makes sense Forest." Chris chuckles.

"Oh yeah? Who were you in high school hot shot?" Forest asks laughing.

"I spent my senior year trying to disappear because my parents had died." Chris is laughing, but Jill feels the weight of what he's said. She didn't know his parents were _dead _not that she's one to talk, it's the principle of the thing, really.

"Teachers didn't make me do any work that last semester and it was awesome." He claims, sparing a glance in her direction. "Barry, who were you in high school?"

"An asshole, but an asshole who somehow managed to start dating Kathy." He says, knocking back the rest of his beer.

"Wow, how long ago was that? The stone age?" Kenneth asks.

"Shut up, smart ass." Barry shakes his head with a smile.

"Yeah, I bet you were a chemistry nerd even back then." Brad chuckles.

"You're right, I uh… accidentally caused a fire in my tenth grade bio class because I wanted to see what happened if I heated up this weird plant specimen we were working with… turns out plants burn, what a concept." Kenneth is a good sport as always, laughing gently at himself.

"I was a pretty cool guy if I do say so myself." Joseph laughs.

"Oh really?" Richard chuckles.

"Yeah, I was a basketball/track star."

"Try member, instead of star." Edward chuckles.

"Fuck you man I would have gone pro if I didn't love this country." Joseph laughs, "What about you Richard?"

"I was um… what's the word for it… a moron – _yeah_ that it – I was a moron in high school." Richard laughs. "Although apparently my girlfriend and I went to the same high school, crazy huh?"

"I've heard crazier." Jill snorts, "But for you, Richard, I think that's crazy enough."

"And who were you in high school Miss. High-and-Mighty?" Chris asks, she looks at him with a hesitant tight mouthed smile… she can't tell him this.

"You wouldn't believe me." She claims, shoving a forkful of salad into her mouth.

"Now we have to know." Barry teases.

She shakes her head self-consciously, "No."

"Come on." Chris drawls, the look in his eye sends a twinge to her heart that she does_ not _acknowledge.

"I will never live this down." She mutters, shaking her head.

"Tell us! Tell us!" Brad, Edward, Chris, Joseph, and Kenneth start chanting.

"Alright fine! God, you sure you're not turning five?" She asks, shoving Chris's shoulder. "I was a cheerleader in high school."

"No fucking way!" Brad cackles.

"I don't believe you." Chris shakes his head.

"See? I told you, you wouldn't believe me." Jill rolls her eyes.

"Didn't see that coming." Barry shakes his head.

"Are you serious? Like you're not pulling my chain?" Edward asks.

"No, I'm not." She folds her arms.

"Is it bad that I believe it?" Forest asks, "You've got strong legs."

Another round of cackling filters through the group before Chris notices. "Why are you blushing."

"I'm not blushing!" Jill claims.

"Yes you are! You're embarrassed."

"Should I go?" She asks.

"Don't be such a poor sport." Chris says, "Tell us, about being a cheerleader."

"What is there to say? Everyone hates you, including yourself, but apparently you get strong legs out of it." She shrugs.

"Come on, were you queen bee of your school?"

"I… ugh." She shakes her head, mulling over the story in her head before deciding to tell it. "So one time I got our coach arrested."

"Excuse me?" Barry nearly spits out his beer.

"One time?" Joseph cackles.

"Alright, have you ever seen those calendars with the cheer teams on them?" She asks, and they respond with eager nods. "Well, my coach had each of us do individual portraits for it, but when the calendar came out it was just the team. So, I got suspicious and broke into his office-"

"Just like that?" Forest asks.

"I'm a B&E specialist for a reason." She shrugs him off, "I find the photos in his desk and um… let's just say there was some other damning evidence."

"Oh my god." Edward leans back with a laugh.

"That's it, my girls aren't allowed to be cheerleaders." Barry shakes his head.

"Who gets off to that? Like the cheer uniforms at our school weren't cute even to us gross boys." Chris says. His voice is tense but Jill passes this off easily.

"Ours were… a lot." She laughs, "That picture was done by the yearbook class so it's actually in our goddamn year book. But we were basically in bras and itty-bitty mini-skirts… I looked like a porn star, but I was in fact fifteen so… yeah."

"That's… _ew_." Kenneth shivers violently.

"High school was certainly a time." Jill says, finishing her pizza.

"I'm sorry that happened to you." Chris says earnestly, "If I found out one of Claire's track coaches had pictures of her, I'd probably lose my mind."

"My parents were not happy to say the least." Jill chuckles, remembering the looks on her parents faces when they picked her up from school the day after the investigation went public.

"I'd be fucking furious and he wouldn't be in jail, he'd be dead." Barry swears. "Fucking scumbag."

Everyone is quiet for a bit, merely listening to the kids running wild on the playground behind them. Jill glances back towards Chris and catches him staring at her, but he doesn't look away. Intimidated by the eye contact she turns her attention back to the kids.

"Anyway, you think Moira's having a good time?" She asks Barry. Successfully changing the topic, Jill sits back and allows the conversation to follow naturally. By the end of the party, half of the kids are asleep on their parent's shoulders and the STARS members are effectively buzzed.

Still, Jill resolves that her apartment isn't too far away and she'll drive herself.

"You sure?" Chris asks before she leaves.

"Oh yeah, I'll be fine." She assures him.

"We can only have one injured STARS member at a time." Chris laughs as Forest bellows out a, "Fuck you man!"

"I'm sure." She smiles, holding his gaze for a heartbeat too long.

"Take care of yourself, alright?"

"You sure you're not a dad?" She chuckles. He doesn't answer, just stares at her a little longer smile like a lazy Sunday sunrise. "I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah." He nods.

She walks away, pretending the burning of her skin came from the sun.


	3. Chapter 3

It's a slow crawl into April, but Raccoon city finally starts to warm up and stay warm. Jill is relieved to spend her days doing paperwork – blissfully mindless paperwork, that is. Of course she's the only one who thinks so, but it's better than crime scenes and tragedy. There are very few calls that require STARS' presence, but they're expected to stay in the office during regular hours anyway.

Which is exactly how she ended up waltzing in on the conversation she did. Coming back from the xerox room, she hears her team laughing down the hall and upon entering, it's like an explosion of noise.

"Jesus, help me." She shakes her head, taking a seat.

"I'm afraid he's busy, can I take a message?" Chris says, adjusting the phone in his hand. He's been on hold with the FBI for the past forty minutes and she gives him a sympathetic gaze as the guys finally calm down.

"Thanks, but no thanks." They share a smirk as he finally gets through. She instead turns her attention to the guys.

"I'm serious, 100%." Edward claims.

"There's no way!" Joseph cackles.

"Yeah there is." Edward claims again.

"I'm not buying it!" Richard snorts.

Chris is finished with the call before anyone says anything that Jill can grasp onto for context.

"I'm telling you! My kill count is 15!" Edward says.

"No fucking way." Jill says in disbelief.

"It is too."

"Okay, sure, where did this happen?" She asks.

"Everywhere I've ever been, baby." He winks dramatically and earns another round of loud laughter.

"Okay first, do _not _call me baby. Second you can't just kill people?" She's so confused.

"No, he's had sex with 15 people." Chris informs her.

"Oh, even more unlikely." She retorts, laughing at herself for the mistake.

"Confirmed by a woman, you have no game." Brad snorts.

"It's true I swear!" The guys go on like this for some time, about a full hour and a half.

It takes Wesker emerging from his office with a rough and terse, "If I knew I was running a goddamn zoo I would have taken you idiots for drills."

Everyone scampers back to their desks after that, watching Wesker stalk back into his office. Enrico is the only one to move, standing to follow the Captain to inquire about something or another. Jill is grateful for the whole fifteen minutes of peace she gets before Chris taps her desk.

"Yes?" She asks, expecting a question concerning work.

"Why did you assume Edward has murdered people?" He asks, having a hard time keeping his chuckling to himself.

She shakes her head, "I mean, come on, we're all ex-military, right?"

"So?" He asks.

"It's not crazy to assume shit happens during deployment." She says while looking back towards her documents.

"We're not at war though." Brad astutely points out.

"Oh, you don't really believe that, do you?" Jill asks with a coo in her tone.

"We aren't… are we?" Brad asks beginning to doubt himself mid-sentence.

"We're the United Stated. We're always at war." Jill smirks.

"Okay but with who?" Barry asks, "I haven't heard of anything going on."

"You're serious?" Jill is suddenly incredulous at the realization. "Please don't tell me I'm the only one in this room who's been deployed."

"Ooo, tough one, sorry." Chris chuckles as everyone else darts glances around the room.

"Oh my god."

"Where the ever-living hell did you get deployed to?" Edward asks.

"Somalia." She says, fighting back against the tide of memories.

"Holy shit." Brad says while Forest gives a low whistle.

"Wait, so you've seen war, like actual war." Kenneth says.

"That's how deployment works." She says, growing frustrated.

"Have you killed anyone Jill?" Richard doesn't have malice in his tone. It's clear he's just curious, but the question has Jill fuming.

"I plead the fifth." She says through grit teeth.

"Oh shit!" Kenneth laughs.

"Jill's got a body count? Holy hell." Forest gawks at her.

"Now we have to know that story." Joseph says.

Jill just about beats the hell out of him, but manages to restrain herself from throwing a punch once she's approached him. "I'm not fucking talking about it, forget it before I _make_ you forget!"

So thrown by her own sudden outburst, she practically runs out to the hall in an attempt to calm down. Shaking hands and so hot, she almost feels like she's caught a fever. She walks down the hall trying her best to breathe. What a goddamn mess.

"Jill! Jill!" It's Barry of all people chasing her down. She's too angry to speak, instead she turns to face him her face reading of distress. "Hey, it's okay. He was being a dick, didn't mean anything by it."

She nods, the rational part of her brain understands that, but she's not exactly using that part of her brain currently. Biting down the inside of her lips, she stares Barry down, watching him relent under her gaze.

"I'm sorry, Jill."

Taking in a shuddering breath as her acknowledgement she closes her eyes. What she wouldn't give to have control over herself again. It's rare that her deployment affects her at all, but right now is one of those times; the anger inside of her is a mixture of fire and fury. She can't decide who deserves it more – Joseph, the rebel army, or herself.

"Let's get you some water, okay?" Barry's hand is practically ice against her shoulder and the difference between them is not lost on him.

Managing to finally speak she gives a low, "Okay." Before allowing him to lead her towards the water cooler.

Barry notices the shaking of her hands and starts to speak, voice soft as can be. "He's a moron okay? He didn't realize what he was saying. He shouldn't have said it and I'm about to apologize for him, but you're alright."

She nods again waiting for him to hand her the water he's already pouring, heel of her hand to her forehead. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault, he took it too far."

"I shouldn't have lashed out like that." She says, though her hands still shake and her body is hot.

"No, you're allowed to snap like that, when people treat you poorly." Barry gets her to take a seat in the break room and he starts rubbing her shoulders, clearly at a loss for what else to do. "But it's okay, we all stand behind you."

"God." She groans, frustration now pointed towards herself.

About a minute of silence washes over them before Enrico walks into the break room, concern plain on his face; Jill hides her face in her hands the moment she notices.

She hears him whisper with Barry for a second, something hushed and hurried that she isn't able to catch, but soon it's just her and Enrico.

"I'm sorry." She says quickly.

"Don't be." He responds just as fast, "It's okay, not your fault in the slightest… we're going to go ahead and let you leave for the day."

"Come again?" She asks, uncertain she understands.

"Go home, get some rest, we're having a slow day anyway."

"I'm okay, Enrico, I just need to get myself together."

"I know… just take the rest of today off, we don't expect you to 'get yourself together' okay? We want you to take care of yourself first."

"Leaving will make me feel worse." She claims, chest tight with embarrassment.

Enrico shakes his head, taking a seat beside her, "I get it… more than you know, but please just take the rest of the day for yourself."

Finally relenting she nods once, "I'm so sorry."

"Don't apologize." He says glancing towards the door where Barry stands with her things.

"You'll be okay to get yourself to your car?" Barry asks.

"Yeah." She says as resolutely as possible, standing to take her things out of his hands. "Thanks…"

"Anytime." He says, "Don't hesitate to call if you need anything."

Jill reluctantly pushes passed him with as reassuring a smile she can manage before walking down the hall. Just as she running through a list of chores, deciding to use this time to go grocery shopping, she has to stop to take a deep breath. God, did she ever overreact.

"Jill?"

"Holy… Chris, you scared the shit out of me." She nearly smacks his chest but settles for gripping the handle of her purse.

"Sorry." He winces as if he, too, was affected by startling her.

"What are you doing?" She asks nervously, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"I-… I had to make sure you were okay." He says. The words sound lame coming out of his mouth, but sincere all the same.

"I'm fine Chris… thanks."

"You going home?"

"I guess so." She manages a bitter chuckle.

They're silent, looking anywhere but one another's eyes, like if they stand in the other's presence for long enough they can make everything right.

Chris speaks up first, "Let me take you hiking."

"Hiking?" She asks incredulously.

"I mean… I get off at 5… but you know that… and I just… It's nice out and-"

"What time?" She asks, feeling the bubbling need inside of her to have company. Remembering deployment is one thing, it's another entirely to do it alone.

"Six thirty?"

"Alright… see you then."

"Yeah." He says breathlessly.

Jill turns and walks away after that, taking her sweet time at the store and then cleaning her apartment. Mindless tasks keep her placated, keep her distracted from thinking about the embarrassment she's endured and the memories that sparked that outburst. No wonder her last job in the military was 'a little bit of a break' – they were trying to see if they needed to discharge her for being fucking nuts.

She drives out to the trail a whopping twenty minutes early and uses the time to stretch; part of her wants to run into the woods, see if she can't find that cannibal murderer and beat the shit out of him. Another fight to quell the warrior's mind, how appealing, yet Jill fights off the urge in favor of waiting for Chris.

Oh yes, she is still ignoring the growing presence of feelings she has for him, feelings that Jill Valentine doesn't have time for. Anyway, how could anyone love a girl who can't handle her own trauma? Her mother used to tell her no one would love her and now Jill can see why.

Just as she's about to call the whole thing off, drive home to have a nervous break down in peace, Chris appears, looking at her with dark eyes.

"Hey." His voice is sad and lilted.

"You ready to go?" She asks, deliberately burying the quivering of her heart as they lock eyes.

"Uh, sure." It takes all of her restrain not to take off at a full sprint, but soon they're running up the mountain at a steady pace. Her heart beat loud in her ears for several reasons, which she notes before pushing herself even harder. By the time they reach the top of the mountain she almost feels better, the nearly setting sun kisses the horizon of the city in such a way that Jill might even call this moment romantic.

Nobody else is on the mountain, why would they? It's a Thursday night for god's sake, but the loneliness between them is palpable and it's a taste Jill could get used too.

"Are you sure you haven't worked out in a while?" Chris asks, hands on his knees and breath bated.

"Guess I'm not as out of practice as I thought." She retorts, pressing on the stitch in her side as if to massage the pain out. She glances around before nodding towards a nearby bench and the two take a heavy seat, the only sound between them gulps of air and the rustling of the soft breeze.

It takes a while for Jill to speak, she doesn't want to disturb the silence, doesn't want to ruin the comforting quiet and beautiful sky above them with tragedy. She wonders if confessing her past will make this any less romantic, because all she wants right now is to kiss him, and she can't have thoughts like that. Not for her damn coworker…

"So uh… according the to military I have eight confirmed kills." She says it so bluntly, but as always, her brain responds, _no you don't_.

"You don't have to tell me anything, Jill." He tells her, voice soft and earnest as his gaze nearly reaches into her soul; as if his eyes will break through to her as consolation.

"Let me have this, Redfield." She says, firmly adjusting herself so that her body totally faces his. "I just… it doesn't feel real… like… I don't know. I recognize it happened. I play the scenes over and over in my head but no matter how hard I try, I can't acknowledge that I did that."

Chris looks at her, head perched on his hand, ready to listen as attentively as possible. She isn't sure if she appreciates that, but she continues in spite of her hesitation.

"I wasn't supposed to see any action, I was just there for training… but we got this extraction mission for some Americans stuck in the country, right? So, we go to this city… chaos isn't enough of a word to describe it…"

She takes in a deep breath, trying to scrounge around in her mind for the right way to explain this. But there is no right way to explain murder, is there? _You didn't murder anyone_.

"A lot of it's a blur, but as we're loading up the civilians, I watched a bullet go through my commander's hand. Like straight _through_ his hand. I remember turning around and seeing these people head to toe in black – masks, gloves, boots, the whole nine yards. I just… started firing on them."

She lets out a bitter laugh, "Even as I say that I feel like my brain is playing pranks on me; like it didn't happen but I know it did. It did happen… every time I say eight confirmed kills I'm not convinced, it's the most vivid memory I have but I'm still not convinced it happened. Maybe I felt like it was still a training, or because I couldn't see any of their features, I've just decided in my head that they weren't people… but they _were_ people."

When he reached over to take her hand she doesn't know, but the contact leaves her skin hyper aware of his touch. Her nerves are on edge but not because of the war – it's because of _him_.

"You're a real hero, Jill."

She shakes her head, the sky is darkening and she hopes the twilight hides her blushing. "No I'm not… I don't know what I am, but I'm not a hero."

"You saved people."

"I killed eight people." _No, you didn't._

He sighs, "I wish you could understand how brave you are. Fuck, Jill, I couldn't have done that. I was no where near getting deployed in my Air Force days."

"Chris-"

"You're extraordinary… and I'm no therapist, but maybe you should think about the people you helped instead of the ones you didn't."

She shakes her head, "It's better if I just forget about it."

"You sure about that?"

"No." Her voice is smaller than she wants it to be.

"You can't escape your past, but you can forgive yourself." He tells her.

"You sure you're not my therapist?" She tries to laugh.

"Oh, I could listen to you all day." He chuckles, clearly not understanding the implication of his words.

Swallowing the rising tension in her throat, she smiles at him. "You're a good listener, must come from that big brother shit you've been doing."

"I try." He snorts.

She looks back towards Raccoon City, thoughts running a mile a minute, but all of them lead back to Chris. How dare he be so charming? So understanding? So willing to see her as a human being, flaws and all? How dare he make her fall for him?

"You think that Raccoon City will be your home forever?"

"Forever is a long time." He smirks, "I'm taking life one day at a time."

She nods, tiredness settling in her bones as she turns to him, "We should head back before I can't walk back to my car."

"I could always carry you." He says with a laugh.

"In your dreams." She snorts swinging her legs back to the ground. Despite how caked with dust and dry her skin feels, she has a soft smile on her face.

"Hey, dreams can come true if you believe hard enough." He laughs.

"Keep dreaming buddy." She winks starting back down the mountain.

She very nearly invites him back to her place for drinks, but keeps herself from doing so. Taking a shower is her first priority anyway. Besides she isn't sure how much of Chris Redfield's stupid smile her heart can handle today.

They reach her car and she lets out a heavy sigh, "Thanks Chris."

"Anytime, Valentine." He smirks, in a sudden burst of boldness, she reaches forward and hugs his middle. Instant regret leaves her tense before he returns the gesture, picking her up ever so slightly from the ground.

She lets out a little laugh when she's back on the ground, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah…" He seems breathless and Jill's got a sinking suspicion it isn't from her weight.

Driving away from the Arklay mountains that night she finds herself thinking about to Somalia; the feeling is daunting and heavy on her shoulders. She still isn't convinced she's killed anyone, she isn't sure she'll ever be convinced of it, no matter how much paper work and truth is behind it. Instead the faces of the civilians she met that day pop into her head and her heart is heavy thinking of them, nonetheless her smile is genuine.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Joseph approaches her before anyone else enters the office, eyes focused as he reaches her. Despite this, for a solid minute he says nothing, even when met with her raise brows and question of, "Can I help you?"

Finally, he takes in a deep breath, "I… I'm a dick."

"Yes." She nods, an agreement passes between them as he holds out the coffee in his hand to her. "What's this?"

"Caramel macchiato extra sugar light ice. Chris says it's your favorite." He shoves his hands in his pockets. "I know a coffee isn't going to fix what I did but uh… yeah."

"Never mention it again and we're even." She says, totally not freaking out that Chris knows her damn coffee order.

"Noted." He gives her a little salute before heading to his desk.

The rest of the day and the next few weeks are only marked by the increased heat in the city. June sneaks up on the STARS team and before they know it, the office is swamped with case work bleeding in from the overwhelmed RPD. Jill and Chris have somehow simultaneously spent far too much time together and not enough, over the course of their partnership. Jill resents the way her heart practically palpitates in her chest at the idea of being partners with Chris. What is she, _twelve_?

One day, smack dab in the middle of the month as she and Chris are going over their assignment for the day, a fiery red head bounces into the office with ease.

"Chris! Holy shit, do you know how hard it is to find this office? It's a goddamn maze in here." She laughs while approaching the pair.

"What are you doing here, little bit?" He asks with a laugh.

"Would you believe I got bored?" She gives him an innocent look.

"What do you want?"

"Anna wants to go to lake for a week so… can I go?"

"You came all this way to ask if you could go out this weekend?"

"Um…" She pushes back the fly-a-ways of her ponytail nervously.

"Oh, I see, you're leaving now." He chuckles giving her, what Jill can only assume, is a playful glare. "Leave the number and address you'll be staying at. Call me the second you get there."

"Thanks Chris!" She beams at him, "I'll be back by Sunday night, pinky promise." She holds out her little finger and waits for him to oblige her.

Jill can't help herself and bursts out laughing at Chris locking pinkies with this girl.

"What? Are pinky promises not manly?" Chris asks, nudging Jill with his elbow.

"Let me guess, Jill Valentine?" The girl asks, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"What gave it away? Being the only woman here?" Jill chuckles holding out her hand to the girl.

"Oh, I've heard enough about you to pick you out of a line up." She laughs.

"_Claire_." Chris has a warning edge to his tone.

"I should have guessed you were the little sister. It's nice to meet you, Claire." Jill smirks.

"And it's nice to finally meet you too! I was beginning to think you weren't real."

"That's enough, Claire. You can get going now." Chris interrupts her.

Biting back a grin, Claire gives one last, "Glad to have a face to the name! See you around." Before turning around and exiting the RPD.

"She's a real whirlwind, huh?" Jill chuckles noticing the pink embarrassment kissing Chris's features.

"You should see her when she's hungry." Chris smirks, causing Jill to shake her head.

"So now that you're a free man for the week, drinks after work?" Forest asks.

"Sure." Chris nods.

"Jill, you in?"

"Yeah, I guess." She agrees nonchalantly, "Are we going to get going?"

Chris nods to her and part of her swears she feels the ghost of his hand on the small of her back; but she brushes it off as a figment of her imagination, and she's been doing _a lot _of imagining when it comes to Chris Redfield recently. Not that she'd ever admit the fantasies she's had about his hands… and lips… and well just about every part of him.

But they're _friends _who go hiking every Saturday morning, take coffee breaks together, and finish each other's sentences. It's just because they're partners – not like _that_ – and they spend a lot of time together because they have to the whole having-each-other's-backs thing.

Fuck it, Jill's fallen so hard for the dumbass she still hasn't picked her face up off the ground. There's no use in denying it to herself, her therapist would call that 'unhealthy' or 'repression' terms she's not comfortable with. So sure, she's… _god _can she even call it a crush? Crushes are for high schoolers, not twenty-two-year-old war veterans.

But if there's one thing she's kept up it's that she refuses to be distracted by him; Jill Valentine doesn't get distracted by men. Damn, does he make it hard though. Mostly because she's not stupid enough to think he's not interested back, because of _course_ he's interested in her… who wouldn't?

It's become a game between the two of them, a test to see who will crack first. Who will break the game they've got going and turn it into… well who knows what it would become? Could Jill really date Chris Redfield?

The end of the day comes quickly and soon she finds herself in a booth at a local sports bar. Kenneth, Forest, Edward, Chris, Richard, Joseph, and her all squished together, bitching about the work day. Jill does her best to keep breathing despite Chris's leg touching her own and she hates herself for the way her heart won't let her forget the contact.

"I swear, Wesker's a robot, I have proof!" Edward laughs, "My girlfriend and I have a chart going. I mark down every time he uses the same phrases. I'm telling you he's a learning robot, like Terminator, except not nearly as cool as Terminator."

"You're nuts man." Forest chuckles.

"I can't believe you roped your girlfriend into helping with your fucking crazy conspiracy theory. Wesker's just an asshole, plain and simple." Joseph comments.

"First of all, I said I have proof. Also I'm glad you brought up my girlfriend, because…" Edward slaps a little black box on the table.

"Oh my god, Edward, you?" Jill asks eyebrows raised in shock.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asks with a good-natured laugh.

"I didn't think you were the type to settle down." She responds.

"Neither did I, but I've found the one. I can't let her realize she deserves better and leave me." He laughs again, this time opening the box to show her the ring, he really seems to want her opinion on it.

"She'll love it, I'm sure." Jill assures him, chuckling as he looks back at the box lovingly. "When are you gonna ask her?"

"Fuck it, I'm doing it tonight. Element of surprise, right?" He asks, already climbing out of the booth and over Kenneth.

"Can I finish your beer?" Chris asks before Edward is completely gone.

"Shit yeah, I'm about to become Leah's fiancé!" He throws both arms in the air before running out of the bar.

"If she says yes." Forest mutters clinking beers with a chortling Joseph.

"Ah young love." Kenneth chuckles downing the last of his drink, "I'm gonna head out here too, see you guys."

"Bye?" Jill chuckles, watching Chris down Edward's drink.

"What a time to be alive." Richard jokes as he's standing up from Jill and Chris's booth to sit beside Forest and Joseph, Chris scooches over just a bit. Jill wishes he hadn't, more than that though, she wishes she didn't care.

"Yeah it is." Jill wipes away the sweating droplets that have formed on the outside of her beer.

"You ever thought about getting married?" Forest asks generally, but the question has to be directed to Richard, the only taken man at the table.

"I've thought about it, but I've only been dating Masie for six months now. I mean, I know she's the one, I just don't want to be a creep about it." Richard answers.

"Oh my god, my ex-girlfriend almost made me propose to her." Chris laughs. Jill fights off the sudden anger she feels in her throat at his statement.

"How does that happen?" Joseph asks.

"I almost did it for the benefits too." Chris snorts, only adding to the tightening of anger in Jill's throat, "She told me that we'd been together for a year and that if I didn't propose to her, I didn't love her. So, I told her I didn't love her and moved halfway across the country."

Jill snorts at that along with Richard who manages to say, "That's cold."

"Claire didn't like her either, I trust Claire's judgement." Chris chuckles, clearly caught up in a memory of this other girl.

Jill decides to speak up, "Yeah, my ex-boyfriend gave me a hell of a time. I told him he was fun to date, but that it wasn't going anywhere. He got all defensive and was convinced that I was his – I kid you not – 'forever girl'… I laughed in his face."

"I would have too." Forest snorts, "He definitely just wanted to trap you."

"I agree." Jill tips her beer to him.

"You'll know when you know. It's different for everyone, but I swear to you I knew Masie was my soulmate the second I saw her." Richard has a smirk on his face and she wonders if it's the memory that's caught him or the fact that she feels Chris's gaze on her.

"Just don't call her your 'forever girl' and I think you'll be good." Jill tells him.

"I think you'd like her, Jill, she scares the shit out of me every damn day…" Richard looks down, "I think I miss her right now and I know she's in our apartment."

"You're cute Richard. If you want to go, go be with your girlfriend." Jill laughs.

"I think I'll take you up on that." He finishes his beer and says a quick goodbye.

"Fuck this, I'm going to Jack's bar to see if Ryman is playing darts." Forest gets up from the table followed by Joseph who downs the remainder of their drinks before leaving Jill and Chris alone.

"Well that was climactic." She says with a laugh, "You ready to go? I kind of wanted to stay out a bit longer but-"

"There isn't anything else I'd rather be doing." He says quickly.

"You want to move to the bar then? Free up the table for a bigger group?"

"Sure." He says and the two of them take up barstools in front of the soccer game. With fresh beers in hand, they talk about how stupid in love Richard and Edward are.

"Must be nice to have that kind of stability in your life." She chuckles, "Someone to keep you sane in this world."

"I'm hurt you don't think that's our dynamic." He laughs.

She rolls her eyes, "Poor Richard, he definitely wants to be married right this second."

"Yeah, I can feel that."

"Oh?" She quirks a brow at him.

He nearly spits out his drink, "I uh… back in my air force days, _really _wanted to get out of the barracks."

"Uhuh. Not because you've been in love then." Just as he starts sweating bullets she gasps, "Oh my god."

"What?" Chris asks suddenly at attention.

"Don't turn around, act natural."

"What? Why?"

She lets out a half chuckle, "I think I see Wesker walking in right now – I said don't look!" She grabs his shoulder as Wesker comes into view, "Oh. My. God. He's in jeans."

"He _owns _jeans?" Chris half whispers.

"I guess so." She lets out a loud cackle as their boss walks into the bar. At least he's still got those fucking sunglasses on.

"Jill, Chris." He says their names as he notices them, approaching with purpose.

"Wesker, what are you doing here?" Jill asks while Chris finally gets to see their boss.

"Personal matters… and you?"

"Just got a drink with some of the guys after hours." She says calmly despite the laughter bubbling inside of her.

He nods, patting a hand on Jill's back, "I'll see you tomorrow then."

As he walks away, Chris's face turns from stoic to slack jawed awe, "What the ever-living fuck?"

"I know." Jill finally lets out her laughter.

"Don't turn around, I'm looking to see who he's with."

"I can't believe this. The others are truly missing out. This is the best thing that's happened all day." She covers her mouth as Chris's eyes nearly pop out of his skull.

"Don't look, but he's with a woman – oh my _god_, he's making out with her."

"I guess that puts the nail in the coffin of Edward's theory." Jill finally manages to get her laughter down to mere chuckles.

"I fucking hate this. I want to leave."

"We can go as soon as my drink is done. I need to know how this goes."

Chris's gaze suddenly snaps to her, "We're talking."

"Yeah I know. Are you okay?" She laughs just as Wesker takes the woman she assumes he had made out with out of the bar, hand directly on her ass. "Gag me."

"Maybe later." Chris says as the two burst into laughter once again.

"God." Jill shakes her head, "_God_."

"Oh man, I think I hated just about every second of the last ten minutes." Chris drinks the rest of his beer.

"Just about?" She smirks.

"Well, it would have been worse if you weren't here." He says with a liquid smooth smile.

"Yeah, okay." She rolls her eyes, "Let's get out of here, I have to go process this."

"Alright." Chris relents, following her out to the parking lot.

"Work will be interesting tomorrow."

"Oh, definitely." He chuckles.

"You saw Wesker's hand on her ass too, right?"

"No!"

Jill grabs his arm without a second thought, "Full ass grab, like… ack!"

His hand is on her waist now and she likes it a little too much. "I almost don't believe you, but I can't _not_ believe you."

She shakes her head, "What a night."

"Yeah." He agrees lamely.

"See you tomorrow?"

"Of course." They both hesitate to move, but eventually go their separate ways.

That next morning is the first time she's ever seen Chris wide awake for a shift as they anxiously await Edward's arrival. Around 8:30 he bursts into the office, arms raised in the air.

"She said yes!" He shouts, pumping his fist in the air.

Jill bounces out of her seat to hug him as the others inform those who missed the previous night's festivities of the context.

"I'm getting fucking married!" He laughs as if even he doesn't believe it.

"Congrats man." Chris says hugging him. When enough of the office has calmed down, Chris can't help himself, "You weren't the only one getting some action last night."

"Oh?" Edward raises his brows, directing his gaze to Jill.

"Yeah, Wesker sure seemed to be having fun." Chris can barely contain the gossip any longer.

"_What_!?"


	5. Chapter 5

"We're going out to celebrate the engagement tonight. Are you guys coming?" Edward asks that Friday during their lunch break.

Ever since that night at the bar Edward's been going on and on about the wedding nonstop.

"I'll be there." Jill promises.

"Where is it again?" Chris asks.

"That new club off Linzer." Edward responds, clearly trying to move onto the next thing in his head.

"I'll take you since it's close to my apartment complex." Jill says as conversationally as possible.

"That'd be great actually." Chris says, "Let me give you my address."

Jill catches Edward's broad smile. It's almost as if this was all a part of the plan. Hell, maybe it is, god knows she's got plans of her own tonight.

She gets home that evening and makes quick work of getting herself ready, make up and all. She could pretend it's because this is the first time she's been to a club in two years (which is true), but she knows the real reason. Truth is, Jill is fucking tired of waiting for Chris to get his act together, and she is totally, 100% tired of fighting her feelings for him.

Now it's time to show him what he's missing out on, and it's going to be fun. She'd never admit to being the kind of girl who enjoys feminine things, mostly due to the job she's found herself in, but hell, she owns more dresses than she needs, applies makeup with an expert hand, and feels fucking beautiful when she looks in the mirror.

She wears a dress so short you wouldn't think it'd need a slit, but it fucking does and she revels in the exposed skin. Absentmindedly caressing her open collar bone, she admires herself in the ruby red dress, Chris is one _lucky _bastard – Jill almost wishes she could date herself. Checking one last time to make sure she stays looking this amazing, she slips on her heels and waltzes out the door like the confident goddess she is.

She slips on the jacket she keeps in her car for an added element of surprise before pulling out of her lot and driving to pick him up. If she weren't so into Chris she'd hate herself for acting this way, but something's got to give and it better be him.

He walks out of his apartment with swagger and just a bit of a stumble, still he's undeniably attractive in his ripped jeans and casual T-shirt. Not as attractive as she is, but she's gonna be hard to beat at this rate.

"Hey, you got all made up." He notes, putting on his seatbelt. He already smells like liquor.

"Yeah, I did, it's Edward's special day, can't be slacking." She claims, "Did you pre-game?"

"A bit." He snorts, "I figured I was going to need it."

"Why?" She asks.

"I uh… Alcohol is expensive?"

"Let's go with that."

He glances at her again, eyes lingering before falling to her exposed thigh. His gaze suddenly gets very intense and his ears grow pinker.

"You alright?" Jill asks sparing a glance towards him.

She notices him swallow thickly, lick his lips once, and blink several times, "I'm-… and… will… _yes_."

"Earth to Chris, you in there?" She waves a hand in front of his face.

"What?"

"Don't tell me you're smashed already."

"I, uh… sorry. I'm fine, I swear."

The last word of his sentence trails off as his eyes snap back to her thigh. She's starting to wonder if he can see her underwear or something, but decides she doesn't care enough to do anything about it.

"Well, if you say so." She shrugs, "I don't want you doing something stupid."

"Who? _Me_? Never." His laugh is nervous, and it makes Jill smirk.

They pull into the club parking lot just after that last quip and Jill is genuinely excited to get out of the car. Just seeing him act this way to her thighs, clears up the park incident a little bit; who'd have thought Chris Redfield would be the kind of guy who's brain short circuits when he sees a beautiful woman. She nearly can't wait until he sees her damn cleavage for the first time. It's been a while since she was this confident in her body, how she's missed the feeling.

They get out of the car, Chris rounding the front bumper to meet her halfway.

"Oh, hold on." She says coyly, taking off the jacket and tossing it on her seat. She's relieved to lose the extra layer in this heat and the look on his face is priceless.

"Damn." He says, though he covers his mouth the moment he's said it.

"Thanks." She winks at him, adjusting the straps of her dress to draw his attention back to her chest. His body acts for him, staring blatantly despite the clear protest going on inside of his head. It takes every ounce of will power Jill has not to bust out laughing.

"You ready to go inside? I want to dance."

"Dance." He repeats, still stuck in his shock.

"Come on big guy." She tugs at his arm with an airy laugh.

He stands still for another second, drinking her in like she's the last glass of water he'll ever have. She turns around, hoping that her exposed back gets a similar response as she heads inside.

"God help me." She hears him say before they're assaulted with the blaring music and blinding lights.

Reaching out, she wraps a hand around his bicep, getting close to his ear she asks, "Do you see them?"

"Not yet." He shouts back, and so they walk through the still small crowd. Jill lets go of him after a few moments so that she can look around herself and locks eyes with Brad, his mouth gaping open as he sees what she's wearing. Jill pulls at Chris she leads him towards the table.

"Hey!" She greets, hugging Edward, "Congrats on the engagement!"

"What the hell are you wearing Valentine!?" Edward laughs.

"You didn't tell me how hot she is!" The girl next to him, likely his fiancée Leah, smacks Edward's shoulder playfully.

"Of course he didn't. He's too in love with you to notice anyone else." Jill responds reaching out to shake the girl's hand but receives a hug instead.

"Thank you!" She laughs loudly.

Leah's a lot more petite than Jill imagined her to be, but she's beautiful all the same; all long blonde curls and a broad smile that could be seen from space. "Sorry, I'm a lot to handle."

"Absolutely not!" Jill puts a hand on her chest, leaning forward with the force of her laughter.

"Be careful, those things may pop out."

The other woman at the table, Jill assumes it's Masie with the way she's got her hand on Richard's shoulder, joins in the laughter. She, too, is a very pretty woman, and Jill wonders for a moment how any of the STARS boys have game, but then she remembers that she herself is trying to get into a STARS member's pants.

"Oh, they're staying put." She assures her, rounding the table to greet her. Somehow, it's fitting that Richard would date a redhead. She's dressed far more conservatively than Jill, but the greeting she give is genuine all the same.

"Drink run?" Kenneth asks, smirking at Chris's immediate answer.

"Yes!" Chris is gone in seconds while Kenneth, Richard, Brad, and Edward trail behind, laughing the whole way.

"Alright soooo, it _is_ true that you're trying to get Chris to give it to you then." Leah laughs.

"If he weren't so stupid, it would have been done by now." Jill snorts, "I'm just about tapping into my last options here."

"Oh, don't worry. We'll get him babe." Masie puts a hand on Jill's shoulder. "With or without alcohol."

"God, he's thick."

"He'll come around, just fucking look at you." Leah chuckles.

"Tonight is also about you. Are any of your friends coming?" Jill asks, making small talk, not having heard much about them from their adoring boyfriends.

The guys come back with a whole platter of shots and mixed drinks, as well as Forest and Joseph. Both of whom give her wide eyed stares, but say nothing as the drinks are passed around. Jill is handed a shot of whiskey, and, despite hating whiskey, she downs it with the rest of the group.

Chris is back by her side, nudging the drink he got her into her hands. He says a few words, but Jill isn't sure it's a coherent thought, especially with the way he narrows his gaze after the words are in the air, "I got you drink."

"Yeah?" She asks with a laugh. He nods, still not convinced that he spoke at all.

After about a half hour of riveting conversation, the DJ announces that the group is celebrating an engagement. The STARS team whoops and hollers for Leah and Edward as the DJ starts playing some raunchy music that makes just about everyone cackle with laughter.

Leah yanks Edward over to the dance floor, followed by a blushing Richard and sweetly smiling Masie. The other guys give each other pointed looks before downing their drinks and following after the couples, leaving just Jill and Chris standing by their table.

"Wow, Edward's got moves." Jill chuckles swirling the little straw in her drink.

"Is that what we're calling it?" He asks.

"Oh yeah, what would you call it?"

"Flailing." He snorts.

"Awe, so mean." She reaches up and ruffles his hair. He shrugs soundlessly to which she responds, "What? Cat caught your tongue?"

"No." He claims quickly.

"Uhuh." She nods, "Think you're a better dancer then?"

"I-uh…" He shakes his head, sipping more of his drink.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm great."

"I think you're lying."

"I am not."

"Look me in the eye and say that." She laughs.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm lying." He admits with a chuckle, but shakes his head afterwards, covering his face with both hands.

"Are you?" She laughs.

"It's your fault." He claims, sloppy smile peaking out between his fingers.

"Oh, this will be good. How's it my fault?"

"Well, if you weren't so damn _sexy_-" He gapes at the words that come out of his mouth as if he can take them back by keeping his mouth open.

"Am I?" She snorts.

"Are you what?" He asks, face one of aghast horror.

"Sexy? Do you really think I'm sexy?" She feels like champagne inside, all celebration and bubbly.

"I never said that." He deadpans.

"You did too, just now." She teases, "Come on, say it to my face."

"No." He says picking up his drink, but she places her hand over the glass to stop him. They share a moment of eye contact before he stares down her lips, clearly desperate for a kiss, but she's not about to be the one to initiate. She wants him to relent, to give in to her, she's done enough work so far, he'll have to do a bit of leg work to match her.

Perhaps it's cruel, intentionally so to a degree, but she's given him enough signs hasn't she? Her intentions are clear, he needs to reciprocate.

The song changes before either of them moves. Jill takes her hand away from the glass to knock back the rest of her drink. "I'm going to dance, come with me if you want."

With that she saunters off towards the dance floor, hips swaying with each step because she's driving home a point, _damn it_.

When she reaches the dance floor she immediately locks hands with Leah who is relentlessly grinding on Edward. The single guys of the group have found random women to dance with and the whole scene is chaotic.

The whole affair is only made more hectic when Masie slides up behind Jill and starts swaying their hips together. Leah follows suit, detaching from Edward and pressing her body flush with Jill's. Granted, Jill hasn't had girl friends since high school, but she's never been in this type of position before. That and she's fairly certain her skirt isn't covering any part of her anymore.

There's a loud wave of hooting and hollering above the music, and Jill's at the goddamn center of it. She's struck with how far she's come over the last six months at STARS, what a different person she's become. Is it bad that she likes it this way?

As soon as the song ends, Leah and Masie go back their respective partners, but not before commenting on how sexy she is. Jill turns around to lock eyes with none other than Chris Redfield, his gaze is dark and needy, but she continues to play coy.

"Took you long enough sour sport." She teases, hand landing on his firm chest.

He gives her a smile so exceedingly telling he doesn't have to speak, he merely takes his time observing her body. She in turn starts to dance, hand moving to his shoulder as she swings her hips.

"You just going to stand there, Redfield?" She jests, about to pull away, but he laces his fingers with hers and uses her hand as a catalyst to start moving. She isn't sure if what this is can be considered dancing but it's fucking something, so she counts this as a victory.

His movements are jerky and awkward juxtaposed by her fluid motions, like they are listening to two totally different songs. It could be silent for all she cares, he keeps a hold of her hand song after song, slowly but sure coaxing him into a more comfortable state. They drift between closeness and noticing the others proximity and separating before they start dancing like a couple. It's one more game to add to the list, and this one, Jill can't say she minds too much; especially when their contact gets longer and longer. From brushing legs to hands slowly easing down the expanse of the other's body, Jill feels like she's won something.

They end up being the last ones to leave with Edward and Leah, both of whom are stuttering and stumbling, so Jill offers to take them home. It's an offer she regrets when they nearly bone in her back seat, but luckily, she gets to their condo before any clothing comes off.

Once they're gone, Chris speaks up, "I'm going to be stupid hungover tomorrow."

"Yeah, you are." Jill agrees backing out of the driveway.

"But like, what did you expect me to do?"

"What do you mean?" She asks.

"You're so hot."

"Thanks, big shot." She chuckles, "You're not so bad yourself."

"Really?" He asks.

"_Yeah_, wasn't it obvious?"

"Fuck…" He groans, "If I wasn't this drunk… man."

"Oh, humor me, if you weren't this drunk?"

"I'd take you home with me." He says, "Shit Jill, don't you know that I'm crazy for you?"

Her heart isn't even in her throat – it's on the goddamn moon.

"I wasn't positive, I was hoping though."

"Fucking sick." He fist pumps.

"You better be able to tell me this sober, Redfield. I'm not kissing you unless you're gonna remember it." She says resolutely.

"Jill Valentine wants to kiss me." He says voice light as air, "What a night."

"I'm serious, I'm not touching you until you admit this shit to me sober."

"Ma'am, yes ma'am." He chuckles, face so red she wonders if he can breathe.

She pulls into his lot and watches him try to get his bearings. "So, no hike tomorrow I'm guessing?"

"If I'm still alive tomorrow, I'll let you know." He snorts, "I'm so stupid drunk, and you're into me… Hell I might be dead right now."

"Do you need help getting to your apartment?" She asks, suddenly noticing how drunk his ass is.

"Hmmm." He doesn't give her an answer because she's already out of the car, yanking on his arm to get him upright.

"Jesus, you're heavy." She groans as he leans on her figure for support.

"It's ALL muscle baby." He slurs dramatically.

"Yeah okay, give me your keys." She rolls her eyes taking his keys out of his hand. Unfortunately, while she's looking for the right one he starts heaving into a flower bed.

"Great." She groans, finally getting the door open.

She waits patiently for him to stop vomiting before pulling him into his apartment. He meanders into what she assumes is his bedroom while she makes him a glass of water. Her gaze catches on pictures of him and his sister, and she smiles thinking that soon she may get an opportunity to actually meet Claire. Properly this time.

She finds him in the room he'd disappeared into – the bathroom, _not_ his bedroom – pants thrown off lazily beside him along with one discarded sock. He's already passed out on the toilet seat, and somehow she isn't surprised. Leaving the water, a bottle of Tylenol, and wrapping a blanket she found strewn across the couch around his shoulders, Jill gets ready to leave.

Before she does, she leaves a kiss on the back of his head, thinking that she can't wait to do that when he's conscious.

* * *

**Listen I know it's out of character for Jill, but guess what? It's finals week, I'm dying, I need humor, or I'll die. If I make Jill confident does that mean I get some too? Will I make it to my grad date? Who knows?**

**All of which to say… sorry. Whoops.**


	6. Chapter 6

Jill doesn't hear from Chris the next day, probably because he doesn't have her number nor do they meet for their Saturday hike. She doesn't mind the emptiness of her apartment. In fact, she spends the weekend reveling in the loneliness and even has a chance to read a book for the first time in months. Still, she finds herself anxious to get back into the office, wondering if Chris (or anybody for that matter) has any memory of that night.

Monday finally arrives and Jill tries to burry her giddiness as much as she's able. God help her, even _she's_ taken aback by her reaction. As always, she's the first in the office, already sorting through case files and doing her damned best to stay focused on the task at hand. Barry and Enrico enter first, talking about their wives and laughing about something before going their separate ways.

Then Brad and Richard, followed by Edward, Forest, and Joseph, Kenneth is surprisingly late. So, of course, Chris is the last one in, the one… well, okay, maybe not the _one_ day Jill wanted to be alone with him, but still.

The day crawls by, but it only takes an hour before the typical banter starts in earnest.

"So, Jill, are you stealing our girlfriends or what?" Richard asks.

"Pft." Jill chuckles, a blush creeping up her neck.

"Um, girlfriend and _fiancée_." Edward corrects him.

"If they leave you for me, I can't do anything about it." She claims with a smirk.

"What are we talking about now?" Barry asks.

"My fiancée and Richard's girlfriend made a Jill sandwich on Friday." Edward claps his hands to drive the point home.

"You're so gross." She laughs, "You make it sound so nasty, but it was just innocent fun."

"Oh yeah, you were so innocent alright." Joseph chortles.

"Elaborate for me, what do you mean?" Jill asks with a laugh.

"You were asking for some kind of attention and I hope you got it." He winks at her before taking a seat.

"You're too much." She rolls her eyes, sparing a glance at Chris. If she didn't know better, she'd say he looks furious… or maybe he's just focused?

"I'm pretty sure that was you." Brad jumps in.

"You know what? I am so sorry that you had to recognize that I'm a woman like that, but you were bound to find out eventually." She teases.

"Sounds like there was a lot going on." Barry shakes his head, still not totally following what happened.

"You had to be there." She claims.

"Yeah Barry, you really missed out! Jill practically rode Edward's fiancée!" Suddenly, at Joseph's comment, Chris gets up from his desk and storms out of the office without a word. Jill feels worry rising in her gut as the door slams shut.

She's the first to speak up, "Uh should-"

"I've got him." Forest gets up from his desk and follows Chris out of the room.

"What's his deal?" Barry asks.

"Probably got upset that his dream girl was grinding on someone else." Edward shrugs.

"That's no way to talk about Brad." Joseph quips.

"Man fuck you guys."

Jill's lost interest in the conversation, eyes having dropped to the work before her as Barry follows Forest after Chris. What's Chris's deal? Is everything okay? Is it about her? Is he possibly mad at her? It's not like she did anything wrong, and he even admitted that he has feelings for her, so what's the guy's problem?

She empties her mind as she fills out documents, but no matter how mindless it is, her mind keeps turning back on to think of Chris. Nearly ten minutes pass before Barry and Forest enter the office again, Jill tries not to look up as quickly as she does, but she hardly has control over herself.

Joseph asks, "He okay?"

"Yeah, just needed to get out for a bit. I sent him to get lunch, on me for missing your thing, Edward." Barry walks up to Jill's desk as he speaks. "He's sorry by the way."

"Sorry?" She asks, heart sinking low in her chest. Every STARS member goes silent at the mention.

"Yeah, wouldn't tell me why, but said he made an idiot of himself."

Jill would hate to say she's afraid of what he could possibly mean, but she lets out a laugh.

"Oh, I get what you're saying." She lies easily.

"What happened now?" Richard asks.

"Chris just got really drunk on Friday and he vomited in front of me, it was no big deal. Happens sometimes, you know?" She knows that's not what he's talking about, but the guys can't know that.

Forest gives her a quizzical look that she tries her very best to stomach.

"Awe, Redfield's embarrassed." Joseph coos.

"Just don't give him shit for it, please?" Barry sighs, walking back to his desk.

Just before Chris returns with food, Wesker walks out of his office to give assignments. When he notices Chris's absence, his gaze lingers on Jill for just a second too long before moving on to the next task. As everyone else is filtering out of the office, Wesker approaches her, Barry, and Enrico.

"Enrico and I will be in a meeting this afternoon; you, Chris, and Barry will be taking calls." He says boredly, producing file folders of cases. "I hope you three will be able to get along."

"We'll be fine, sir." Jill says confidently.

"Even with Chris acting up? It's quite unlike him." Wesker looks at her and she can almost make out his irises from behind those glasses.

"I'm sure he's alright, just a little stir crazy." She claims again, "Right, Barry?"

"Yeah, he's alright." Barry agrees.

"Hm." Wesker gives a sort of semi-smile, "You'd think after the night you all had, he'd be rearing to stay in."

"You know about that?" Jill asks, fighting to keep any embarrassment from flooding her senses.

"Word travels fast… and you were in public." He says as if to remind her.

Jill's voice gets caught in her throat as he continues. "You seem to forget that I don't live in this office, Jill."

"It's not that, sir, I just don't normally act like that." She says, nerves nearly getting the better of her.

"I'm sure you don't typically dress like that either." He says the words and her skin turns to fire.

_Holy_ _shit, _there's no way in hell Wesker saw her like that right? He _couldn't_ have. If he did, she'd be practically vomiting at his feet.

"Good god, no!" She tries to laugh and pass it off as a joke, but Barry gives her a knowing loo., "Yeah that's not… I don't usually even leave my damn apartment, so… That will not be happening again. Probably ever."

"Oh, don't worry, I have photos." Wesker says it so offhandedly, so flippantly Jill is surprised she hears him.

"What?" She asks, gaze darting to Barry and Enrico, who both seem unfazed.

"What?" He returns the question.

"You have pictures of me?"

Wesker gives her a smirk, a short laugh, and pats her shoulder twice before turning on his heel leaving for his meeting. His head shaking as if to say, 'don't you worry about it', or 'I don't have pictures of you I'm just teasing but I'm not enough of a person to know how to make a proper joke'.

"That was creepy, right?" Jill asks, Barry shrugs his shoulders while Enrico responds.

"Wesker's a creepy guy."

"That's fair, but… still." She shudders internally at the thought of him having photos of her… God it's like high school all over again.

"He's probably pulling your chain." Enrico passes it off with ease.

"Sick joke." Barry scoffs, "You shouldn't talk about your coworkers like that."

"Besides, since when does Wesker make jokes?" Jill crosses her arms self-consciously.

"Just try not to overthink it, Jill, it's probably nothing. Will you guys be okay by yourselves?" Enrico gives her a smile to reassure her.

"Of course." Barry nods, allowing Enrico to follow after their boss.

"Please tell me I'm not crazy, Barry."

"You're not crazy, but I think Wesker is harmless. Kind of a creep, but harmless." He assures her, "Let's get some work done, okay?"

Jill agrees reluctantly.

About two minutes later, Edward drops by to let them know lunch is in the break room. She lets Barry go in favor of mulling over Wesker's words. Is it possible that he has photos of her? Could he seriously be trying to make a joke? Is the guy on fucking _crack_?

Suddenly, a Styrofoam plate of spaghetti is placed on her desk with the arm of Chris Redfield attached to it.

"Thanks." She says, looking up from her work.

"Didn't want you starving yourself for the RPD, not worth it." He says as the first hints of a smile grace his face for the first time that day.

"Oh? You don't think the citizens of Raccoon City deserve the very best?" She asks gratefully picking up the plate.

"Never said that." He claims, scratching his forehead as if he's ready to speak, but holds back from doing so.

"You scared the shit out of me, Chris." She tells him.

If he won't say something, she has to.

"I, uh… don't mention it, please." As he says this, Barry re-enters the office, leaving her with a sinking feeling that something with Chris isn't okay.

"You can't expect me to give up that easily." She prods but is met with only a shake of his head. "Chirs-"

"Just stop, Jill, don't make me beg." She can see a mixture of regret, embarrassment, frustration, and even a little bit of sadness lingering behind his eyes. Jill drops the conversation, the weight of her heart close to unbearable as she answers a call from the evidence department.

The day melts away so agonizingly slow, Jill nearly loses her mind as the silence seeps into her skin. She and Chris have suddenly started a tense sort of game where they both stare at one another. Both are hyper aware of the other's presence, but neither will say a thing. The only crux they have is work and Barry to keep the tension from boiling over; though Barry keeps instigating conversation between them, hoping to ease the situation, but one of them shuts down at the mere idea of breaking the seal of their silence.

Barry is out the door at 5 on the dot, leaving Jill and Chris slowly gathering their things.

Finally, unable to bear it for a second longer, Jill says, "Walk me to my car."

Chris hesitates, face rifling through as many emotions as he is capable of before finally uttering a weak, "Okay."

She waits to speak again until they're in the parking garage, but when she does it takes far too much will power to keep herself from screaming.

"So, is this how things are going to be now?"

"What do you mean?" He asks, hand on the back of his neck.

"You know what I mean." She says resolutely, the afternoon heat heavy and dense in the air.

"I, uh…"

"You have to talk to me, Chris, I'm going to lose my damn mind here."

"_Why_?" He asks, voice harsh as she looks at him.

"Because I care about you, you big oaf." She gets in front him. His gaze is harsh on the ground, but she continues, "If you're mad about something, talk to me about it like a big boy. I'm not about to work with a child who can't manage his feelings-"

"You are such a bitch." He says suddenly, "I didn't mean that."

"Then what did you mean?"

He goes silent hand raising to his forehead. He rubs his temples for a second before letting out a sigh.

"I don't know."

"You can't just call me a bitch without giving me a reason."

"I'm sorry, I just can't… I just can't."

"Can't what, Chris?" She lets out a huff of a breath, "Am I your friend?"

"Yes."

"Do you care about me?"

"Yes."

"Then use your words and tell me what's bothering you."

"I can't Jill!" He says grabbing her shoulders out of nowhere, shaking her as he says it.

"Well, when you can manage to talk to me… You know where I fucking live. Swallow your damn pride whenever it suits you." Shrugging him off, she climbs into her car, watching him hesitate for a moment before moving towards his own vehicle.

This is exactly why Jill doesn't do office romances, why she doesn't do relationships _at all_. Fuck this. _Fuck this_. How dare he call her a bitch? Sure, she's been called worse, but it stings even more coming from the man she'd thought could change her whole point of view. Was she blind? He said… Never trust the words of a drunk man. She should know better.

In the back of her mind, she hears he mother's voice clear as day: "You are unlovable, no man will ever marry you."

Jill gets to her apartment, suddenly feeling so trapped she almost leaves, but where else would she go? Struck by the sudden loneliness, she wishes she could call her dad. What she wouldn't give to hear him laugh and have him ask her if she'd already forgotten the lessons he'd spent so much time trying to teach her.

She settles for stupid, mindless television, barely even noticing the setting sun, practically falling asleep on her couch. But there's something still stirring in her that keeps her awake, Wesker's comments from earlier. Where did he see her? How did he get pictures of her? Was he just teasing like an idiot?

Spurred from her seat, she stands up and starts going through the rooms of her apartment. She's on the second floor, but could he possibly be able to… God she's going crazy. Her bedroom doesn't even face the parking lot, let alone the street; the one window faces into the grassy patch of park in the middle of her complex.

Just as she's nearly calmed herself down, she glances out the front window of her living room; and her eyes catch a man standing in her parking lot, undeniably staring right up at her.


	7. Chapter 7

Jill taps into her very deepest reserves of strength as she opens the front door for him.

"Chris-"

"Can I come in?"

"Uh… yeah, sure."

She opens the door a little wider to allow him inside. Just as she closes the door, he has his hand on hers.

"I'm sorry. I'm a dick and I should have dealt with it better." He says it so fast his words synch up with the beat of her heart. "Holy Hell, Jill, you drive me crazy and I can't lose that…"

"You've got me Chris, Jesus-"

"No, you don't get it, I can't _live _without you and I know I fucking ruined it telling you how I feel-"

"Shut up." She says, taking his shoulders firmly, "You obviously aren't remembering that night correctly."

"I-… _what_?"

"Tell me what you remember." She says, voice soft and hopeful, a beacon of calm amidst the storm of nervous energy.

"I… I told you that I wanted to take you home with me and that wasn't okay."

She shakes her head, a nervous chuckle breaking out of her. "Goddamnit, Chris…"

"Don't laugh at me, I'm trying here."

"I can tell, but you're clearly forgetting the part where I told you I wouldn't kiss you until you could confess your feelings to me sober."

She's got a smile on her face that is very nearly painful. This fucking goof.

"You said what?" His eyes are the size of frying pans, mouth hanging open dumbly.

She moves her hand to his cheek and laughs again, "I believe my words were something to the effect of: 'if you can't tell me you want me when you're sober, I'm not kissing you'."

He stares at her, brain malfunctioning as he tries to formulate words. He finally manages a lame, "Oh… _oh_… o-okay."

"You in there?" She asks. In an instant his arms are tight around her waist pulling her body so close to his that she can hardly breathe.

"Jill Valentine, you're gonna kill me some day, and I'm going to love every second of it." He laughs.

"Me? This is your stupid, drunk fault." She smacks his chest playfully.

"Yeah, well, if you weren't so gorgeous and sexy I wouldn't have gotten so drunk, now would I?"

"Oh, don't try getting out of this one."

They're smirking at one another the air between them is warm and thick.

"What's that look?" She asks, moving her hand to his neck, fingers finding raised chilled skin.

"You're gonna be the love of my life." He tells her, voice tender and sweet, so low in his chest she can feel the vibrations of the words against her.

"Gonna be? What's holding you back?" She asks.

They lock eyes, hesitation holding their hearts back, but Chris swallows thickly, "Can I kiss you now?"

"Are you sober?" She asks with a laugh.

His motions are slow and purposeful, one hand threading through the locks of her hair, breath steady until he leans forward.

He feels like heaven, like this is the way things are supposed to be, and kissing him is the easiest thing in the world. He tastes like laughter, like summer breaks and Christmas joy wrapped up in one. She is shocked by how totally she's overcome by him. Chris Redfield makes her feel like she never has to breathe again, but will remain sustained for a lifetime.

She feels him start to pull back from her and can't stand the idea of ending their kiss, so she raises herself to the tips of her toes to continue the contact. Though surprised, he doesn't seem to mind, gripping her waist and the back of her head just a fraction tighter. It's been nearly two years since Jill's been kissed, but never in her life has kissing felt like this.

Romance novels can get fucked. Reality is so much better.

"I think I'm drunk again." He says when he manages to break away from her.

Jill lets out a laugh, "Yeah?"

"Yeah…" He smiles, "But I like it better this way."

"Hmm…" She sends her gaze around his face, he's even prettier up close, "What does that make me then?"

He opens his mouth to speak but can't find the words before he has to kiss her again. With tight breath and even tighter grips, they cease to exist separately. Jill's never been too keen on the idea of soulmates, but in this instant, she'd claim she always knew her perfect half was out there. Part of her is afraid of the power he holds over her, the other knows she's placed her trust in the right person. And what is love without a little bit of fear? _Love_…

"You're perfect." He manages to say once he's drunk enough of her to be able to speak again.

She shakes her head, "You're such a heartthrob."

He laughs, hand on her cheek, calloused and gentle as he pushes her hair from her eyes. "I know it's too soon for I love yous, but Jesus Christ…"

"Who says it's too soon for that?" She asks, surprised at her own words but standing firmly by them. "You're my partner, my best friend… Of course, I love you."

Chris nearly stumbles back at her words, "Wow, in that case, I love you too… Am I really your best friend?"

"Is that sad?"

"No, it's the best thing I've ever heard. Like… in my whole entire life."

Jill looks down at his chest, biting her lip she glances up at him, "So you're staying right? At least for a little bit?"

"Oh, you're stuck with me now, Valentine. It's going to take some serious leg work to get me out of your hair."

"You want to order Chinese delivery then?" She asks.

"You know my one true weakness." He chuckles, "Besides, you know… _you_."

She chuckles, taking him to her kitchen where she's got take-out menus. He reads over her shoulder, hands never once leaving the slopes of her hips. In the back of her mind, she thinks she should have changed, a mussed up uniform isn't exactly sexy or beautiful; but the way he kisses the back of her head like he just can't help himself sends chills down her spine.

After she places the order she turns to look at him expectantly, still unsure of what to do or how to act.

"So, are you going to show me that yearbook photo we discussed?" He asks with a grin.

"You're so gross." She chuckles.

"Are you?"

"Fine." She rolls her eyes, leading him to her bookshelf.

Pulling out the offending yearbook she presents it to him. They sit on the floor, twisting their hands together like stitching as they sort through pages upon pages of memories. The sight of the picture in question sends her into a spiral all over again, wondering if Wesker really has pictures of her in his own office.

"Oh my GOD, Jill!" Chris cackles.

"Just remember I was fifteen." She snorts staring at the photo.

"Jesus Christ."

"Would you have hit on me in high school?" She asks curiously.

"Hell no, for many reasons."

"Chris!"

"First of all, you were definitely adored by the masses based on the amount of signatures in here." He starts with a laugh, prompting her to shove him playfully, "Second, I was that asshole who didn't think cheerleaders were people. Third, you were and still are way out of my league."

"Am I?" She teases.

"You're settling, you know." He tells her confidently.

"Never."

She gets close to his face until their noses touch, then their foreheads, then their lips come crashing together like the tide to a shore. It's a desperate kind of want, the kind that is futile to ignore and ravenous for affection. Despite their youth, they kiss like they're making up for lost time.

And this is most youthful she's ever been, even when she kissed boys in her teens it wasn't like this. On the living room floor with a yearbook sprawled at their feet, hasty hands groping over clothing. A silent reverie of playful energy and pure emotion; it's the kind of moment media tries to encapsulate but isn't capable of portraying the reality.

The only reason she pulls away is when the delivery guy is at her door, hastily getting herself together Chris grabs his middle laughing on the floor.

"What's your problem?" She asks, grabbing her purse to pull out some money.

"You're cute."

"I'm a lot of things, cute is not one of them."

She opens the door, pays for delivery, and feels Chris's presence behind her before she even thinks about closing the door.

"You are cute." He says.

"Cute is for puppies-"

"Beautiful women can also be cute." He claims, following her into the kitchen like said puppy.

"Uhuh." She nods taking a seat at the small table with her plate of food, "So are you going to tell me what prompted you to come here? Not that I'm complaining, just curious."

He laughs dishing himself lo mien before joining her.

"I uh… I went home, Claire told me I was moping and I needed to tell her what was wrong. So I did, to which she said something like, 'you're such an idiot go win her back before you lose her forever' and here we are."

Jill reaches across the table to hold his hand, doing her best to hide the desperation she feels for some kind of contact. "Good old Claire… Can't wait to meet her properly."

"You'll love Claire, she's the only reason I'm still a person."

"Yeah?" Jill asks.

He nods, "I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for her, hell I don't know what I would have done if my parents were still around."

His admittance makes her feel something inside.

"Everything happens for a reason."

"Yeah." He agrees, leaving something unspoken between them.

They eat for a while longer, conversation light and teasing. It isn't until Jill mentions the topic that either of them entertains the idea.

"So, business as usual then." She says, recognizing she's just opened a can of worms she didn't intend on addressing so soon.

"I… I hadn't thought about that." He says, hand covering his mouth in thought.

"I meant… sorry, this isn't the fun stuff." She says ruefully.

"No, but I get it. We're allowed a personal life, _outside_ of the office." He emphasizes. "I know we're close to the others, but they don't have to know every detail of our lives."

"I was more thinking that they'd force us to have different partners." She smirks, reveling in the shocked face he makes.

"Jill Valentine, I would never."

"Would never what, Chris Redfield?" She retorts.

"Are you implying that we mess around on the job?"

"All I'm saying is that if it happens, I won't complain."

He shakes his head, "You're a real wild card."

"Oh, like you're so straight laced." She teases.

"_So_ straight laced, might as well name me Wesker's apprentice." The comment leaves her more uncomfortable than she wants to feel, and Chris notices instantly. "I'm not serious."

"No, I know." She nods, nervously sipping her drink.

"What's wrong?"

"I uh… he just freaks me out…" She wonders if she should mention earlier, but he beats her to the punch.

"What happened?" He asks earnestly.

She relents almost instantly, "He said that he had pictures of me from Friday."

"Like, he actually said that?"

"Yes! He mentioned that it was out of character for me, then said, 'don't worry I have photos' and just left."

Chris makes a grimace, "Ew."

"Right? Barry and Enrico think he was just teasing."

He snorts, "Does Wesker know how to tease?"

"Exactly! I've been on edge thinking about it." Jill feels relief fill her up at his validation.

"I mean, Wesker's a freak, but he has a woman already." Chris reasons in his own way, "I wouldn't spend too much time worrying about it, but definitely unsettling."

"Ugh, he's so… I don't even know what."

"Don't worry, I'll protect you."

Jill bites her lip, trying to fight the smile spreading across her face. "Like I need protection."

"I don't want you accidentally killing our boss for looking at you the wrong way. It's my job to be the dumb one in this relationship, and I take that responsibility very seriously."

The mention of them being in a relationship nearly sends Jill into cardiac arrest.

"Is that what we're calling this?"

"We could call it a marriage, but it's a little soon for that don't you think?" Chris laughs.

"So, I'm your what?"

"Well, you're the only person I'm ever going to love like this, but for now let's stick with girlfriend."

They stare at one another for a precious moment before Jill speaks up, "Hm, boyfriend huh? Been a while since I've had one of those… not sure its ever been like this either."

"Can I take that as a compliment?"

"You can and you should." She chuckles taking his plate and putting them in the sink.

"Hey! Fortune cookies!" He's uncharacteristically excited about a fucking fortune cookie, but it's so sweet and genuine her heart almost bursts out of her chest _Alien_ style.

"Cheers." She chuckles, clinking their cookies together before breaking hers apart. It takes her a second to come back to earth, because she's reeling from how the universe could possible lay this out any plainer for her.

It reads: _The love of your life is right in front of your eyes._

She nearly busts out laughing but settles for handing it to Chris who has the entire cookie already shoved in his mouth. He swallows, gives her a grin, then hands her his own: _Love, because it is the only true adventure._

"Someone on the other side has been waiting for this thing to happen for a while." Jill snorts, popping one half of her cookie in her mouth.

"The other side? You mean like my parents? God?"

"One of those." She shrugs.

Her mom is likely rolling in her grave, she'd have never approved of Chris and somehow that makes Jill more attracted to him.

She washes the dishes while he packs away the left overs, it's so strangely easy and domestic Jill fights not to comment on it; afraid to break whatever it is holding them together, or of stepping out of this reality. This is the world she wants to stay in, forever if she can manage it.

"Are you going leave soon?" She asks once the chores are finished.

"Am I being kicked out?" He returns the question with a snicker

"Course not." She shakes her head, "I just figured… we _do_ have work tomorrow."

"I know I have to leave… but five more minutes?" He teases, eliciting a laugh from Jill.

"I am dating a toddler."

"Told you that you're settling, but it's too late to back out now – you're stuck with me."

"Yeah, okay, Jill Valentine doesn't settle for anything."

"Guess I better start being worthy of you then."

In the silence she approaches, rising to her toes to kiss him, "You _are_."


	8. Chapter 8

That week Jill and Chris are the most productive they've ever been, a fact which is not lost on anyone in the STARS unit. Most of them assume it's because they're still on sour terms from the weekend; Chris and Jill do nothing to convince them otherwise. Still, they go to Jill's apartment everyday after work, cooking and talking as if they'll always have something to say to one another.

That Saturday, Chris convinces Claire to join them for their post hike coffee run. She was absolutely _not _under any circumstances waking up at 5 am on one of her last Saturday's of the break. By the time Chris and Jill get back to the apartment, Claire is still in her pjs, sipping on one of three coffees still in the drink carrier. She bounces out of her seat the second the door opens.

"Hey!" She jumps in front of her brother and his girlfriend, eager for a hug despite Jill's hesitance. "It's so good to meet you for real!"

"Sorry, I'm really gross right now." Jill chuckles.

"No worries, I'm in my shitty pjs so I'm _not_ about to judge." Claire assures her, excitement plain and anxious.

"And you left the house like that?" Chris chuckles.

"Yeah, I did drive thru." She says it as if that explains everything. "And I got muffins, so you're welcome."

"Better be blueberry or you're kicked out." Chris walks passed her towards the food.

"Yeah, because you're capable of that." She snorts.

"Don't call him out on his bluff, you'll hurt his pride." Jill chuckles joining him at the table.

He hands her the iced coffee with a smirk.

"You're supposed to be on my side." He pouts playfully.

"Am I?" She asks.

"Don't be mean." He chuckles.

"So now's the part where I tell you all the reasons you should get out of this relationship, right?" Claire smirks over her coffee.

"Oh, do tell." Jill snorts.

"_Women_." He groans shoving muffin in his mouth.

"First things first, he's a fucking boy scout."

"Oh. My. God." Jill cackles, "Really?"

"What's wrong with being a boy scout?" He asks.

"It's for nerds." Claire smirks.

"All of my old cheer friends will never let me live it down." Jill teases, grabbing his hand when he rolls his eyes.

"Anyway, boy scout, and it like… became a part of his personality."

"What does that even mean?" He asks incredulously.

"I know exactly what you mean." Jill tells Claire, who in turn gives Chris a pointed look.

"I'm getting burned, in my own home."

"You're free to leave." Jill reminds him, to which he grabs her chin with his thumb.

"So are you." He reminds her, giving her head a little shake.

"This is _girl_ _time_. If you can't hang, we understand." She chuckles taking her face back.

He leans forward to plant a kiss to her cheek.

"I can hang." He chuckles back.

"Then be cool." Claire looks like she's trying to suppress her excitement at seeing them interact. "He's also a mess. I'm not totally convinced he knows how to do dishes or laundry on his own."

"I do too." He claims despite Claire's raised hand.

"Also, he genuinely believes he's the sole protector of the women in his life; so be prepared to be scolded for outfits and the like."

"Okay that's just _you_, baby sister." He clarifies, "I would never tell Jill what to wear."

"Uhuh, sure thing prince charming." Claire rolls her eyes, "Other than that he's a decent guy, you could probably do better, but he's decent."

"Oh my god." Jill chortles at her closing statement.

"You're so rude, even after all I've done for you." Chris covers his face with his hands, clearly embarrassed but trying to pass it off as laughter.

"It's going to take a little more than some dirty dishes to run me off." Jill laughs, hand resting on his upper back.

Claire has a glint in her eye as Jill says this, it reminds her so much of Chris that, for a second, she almost forgets they aren't the same person.

"You know what, on second thought, I'm going to take a shower. You guys have fun." Chris kisses Jill's hairline before walking off towards the bathroom.

"So, I have to know." Jill chuckles, "How did the conversation go where you convinced him to come after me?"

"I'm so glad you asked." Claire laughs, "He came home so down he practically had a raincloud over his head. It took me twenty freaking minutes to get him to tell me what was wrong; and I was like, boy you're so stupid she clearly wanted to have a human conversation with you and you BLEW IT."

"Oh my god you're so right, I went home furious!" Jill laughs.

"Exactly! I looked at him like, you realize she's a person right!? He's just _so dumb _sometimes."

"Yeah, but he's got a big heart." Jill says without thinking about her words until they're said.

"Do you really love him? He said you told him you did, but like I said, he's stupid."

"No, that's what I said… I think being as blunt as possible is going to be our main mode of communication from now on."

"I have never seen him that happy in our whole lives." Claire says, smile almost faraway, as if she's reliving the moment. "Take care of him okay? He needs that kind of joy in his life."

"I'm going to do my best. We'll see if he lets me." Jill chuckles.

"Welcome to the family." Claire lifts her drink to her, Jill indulges her by returning the gesture.

Somehow the days have morphed into months, as if without Jill's consent time starts slipping out of her hands. She's afraid how little she minds though, mostly because of Chris.

Before she knows it, five months have come and gone. Claire is away at college and Chris all but lives at Jill's apartment. Work is so simple now, it's like the world is finally where is should be. Jill wonders when that will all end.

"You're such a doom and gloom downer." Chris chuckles one day, sitting on her bed as she expresses her concern. "What we've got here is good Jill, it's just going to get better."

She believes him despite her better judgement.

"How exactly is it going to get better?" She teases straddling his lap as she does so.

"Hmm, getting a bit desperate are we?" He chuckles, her fingers tied up in the hem of his shirt.

"Is that what you want to hear?" She asks, face close to his.

"Maybe, try it out." He rests his hands on her hips.

"I'm desperate for you." She puts a little vigor into her voice, and all at once he's gone; lips and skin so desperate and wanting it is impossible to separate them. Despite the fear and anxiety in her gut, she gives it all over to him without an ounce of hesitation.

The truth of the matter is, Jill's growing increasingly worried about Wesker's intentions. It's starting to feel like he's going out of his way to make her uncomfortable. The asshole has a wandering hand when no one's looking, including herself, sometimes she questions if he's really touching her or merely a figment of her imagination.

Her and Chris have remained quiet about their relationship, barely even going out on dates except for when he pays for drinks after work. If anyone in STARS knows about them, they haven't said anything, Wesker most of all.

It's nearing the end of November when things start to get stranger still. Wesker comes to her desk in front of everyone and demands to know what her plans for the holidays are. Everyone narrows their gaze and tries to decipher his meaning behind it, before she finally answers with a vague yet typical, "Going to see old friends since it's a long weekend".

Once he's back in his office, seemingly satisfied with her answer, everyone lets that shit settle before diving into how _fucking weird _their boss is. She's glad to have the validation, to know her coworkers back her, but they don't intervene. None of them have ever given advice or suggestions beyond, Wesker's a fucking creep. Newsflash, she _fucking _knowsthat.

By January, and Jill's one-year STARS anniversary, Edward is in the thick of wedding planning. Jill and Chris get a joint invitation, which startles and alarms them both.

"What the fuck, Edward?" Chris asks once he's realized the implication.

"Look the fiancée says we don't have the space for you to each bring a plus one, so you're each other's plus one."

"Yeah that's it." Forest snorts.

"Don't let Wesker see you passing out invites, he'll be butthurt about not getting invited." Jill says with a laugh.

"Bold of you to assume he has feelings." Edward jokes.

"Even bolder to assume he's not invited." Joseph quips.

"You caught me. Just to see if we can't get some love into that cold dead heart of his." Edward jokes handing Barry his invitation.

"Just make sure to cut him off so he doesn't end up locking one of the bridesmaids in his basement." Jill says it and feels regret boiling inside of her, but doesn't take the comment back.

"That's assuming he has a house." Chris teases.

"I bet you he has a secret murder castle in the middle of nowhere." Jill snorts, "All the works – booby traps, sex dungeons, a morgue. Total Dracula style."

"Or maybe he's really boring and doesn't know how to exist. I wouldn't be surprised if you told me he was built instead of born." Forest laughs at Edwards antics just before Wesker calls a meeting.

Hesitantly, Jill follows after Chris. Part of her wants to grab his hand for security, but reason wins out. Instead she reluctantly takes up a spot over the laid out map beside Wesker. She tries not to think about it, about him and his presence, tries to rationalize that he's her boss and if he had a problem with her, he'd have expressed it by now.

Enrico is going through a list of previous sightings, mysterious deaths in the Arklay Mountains that STARS has been tasked with investigating. Just as Jill gets comfortable, finds herself paying proper attention to the task at hand and starting to decipher what Enrico is hoping to accomplish; she feels the tough skin of fingers brushing a lose strand of hair behind her ear.

Snapping her gaze up she furrows her brow at Wesker, his hand slowly trailing the line of her jaw before he turns back to the map. Just like that, as if nothing happened, as if he didn't just touch her. The skin of her jaw prickles with distaste as she glances to see if anyone saw the contact.

Brad and Richard are passing glances between themselves, but other than them nobody seems to have moved an inch. Jill feels violated in a way and she feels childish for it, like a tattletale on the playground. But fucking _fuck_, Wesker leaves her unsettled.

The meeting ends with most of STARS leaving on assignments, it's her, Chris, and Barry left to attend the phones. Enrico and Wesker head off to a meeting, but before anyone else can head out she grabs Brad's shoulder.

"Did you see that?" She asks bluntly as he's gathering his things.

"What the whole?" Brad pantomimes moving hair from his face.

"Yes. Creepy, right?"

"Would have been less creepy if the hand lingering didn't happen." Richard chuckles, joining in on the conversation. "Guy hasn't got any clue how to interact."

"Touching someone's hair is freaky." Jill says, folding her arms over her chest.

"Maybe he's OCD and your hair was bothering him?" Brad tries lamely.

"So, since your face is bothering me I can punch it in?" She asks, frustrated and unsettled.

"Calm down Jill, we can't be breaking Brad's pretty face… _again_." Kenneth teases, clearly not understanding the conversation.

Frustrated, Jill sits back at her desk, Chris looks concerned but says nothing until the office is empty. He, too, discounts the situation, says it's really not that big a deal.

"But Wesker should keep his hands to himself." Chris assures her, "Especially when dealing with another man's woman."

Jill rolls her eyes, annoyed at his reaction, "You don't care how I feel about it, just that I'm not 'his'?"

"Never said that." Chris shakes his head, "I'm not going to be able to get myself out of this one, so just let me take you to dinner?"

"What?" She asks.

"It's your one-year anniversary in Raccoon City, we were going to take you out on a team dinner, but Edward is busy wedding planning, Barry's got kids, Enrico's got a wife, Richard claims Masie's sick but if you ask me I think he just doesn't want it to be the three of us."

Jill gives him a smirk, "What time?"

"Six?" She nods despite the irritation in her gut that he won't agree with her about Wesker. She's known men like that before, and if things keep going this way…

Chris gives her a quick kiss just in time to get back to his desk before Barry walks into the office. And really, she does her best to ignore the sinking in her chest, tries to burry the worst thoughts that come to mind. Startled by the door to the office opening prematurely, the fear that starts in earnest quickly washes away.

"Excuse me, this is the STARS office correct?" He asks, voice so familiar and warm Jill could cry at the relief filling her up.

"Mr. Carsevelli? Is that you?" She stands up from her desk, smile plain as day.

"Well I'll be damned, is that Jill Valentine?" He chuckles, "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I work here, welcome to my office." She laughs hugging the man like it hasn't been years since their last encounter. He's got more wrinkles than she remembers, but his eternal warmth is still there, just as it ever was.

"I had no idea you left the military." He laughs, "But look at you, all grown up, when did that happen?"

"I have no idea." She chuckles, "What are you doing here?"

"I'm considering Raccoon City for a new development, Chief of Police told me to come speak to Albert Wesker about STARS."

"Oh, he's out right now, but should be back soon." Jill chuckles, "How are your girls?"

"Old. You kids and your aging, I can't take it." He laughs with her.

Jill turns her head, noticing that Barry and Chris have stopped their work to stare. "Let me introduce you to some of the STARS Alpha team."

"Please do." He turns his attention towards the two men who stand at the mention.

"This is Barry and Chris, my partner."

"Is that what you kids are calling it these days?"

Chris looks like he's about to choke, so Jill laughs. "You know what I mean."

"Of course, I do." Mr. Carsevelli puts his hands in his pockets after shaking their hands.

"This is Mr. Carsevelli, he was my dad's best friend, and is practically my second father." Jill introduces them, and if Chris wasn't panicked before, he is now; Jill swallow her chuckling as he shifts nervously.

"I _am_ your second father." He laughs. "You take care of her don't you?"

"She takes care of us, more like." Barry chuckles, "I have two girls myself, they're shaping up to be just like Jill."

"She certainly has that effect on people." Mr. Carsevelli chuckles. Chris says nothing, despite looking like he wants to.

"So you're considering bringing the business here? I'm starting to think you're following me." Jill teases.

"You caught me, got to keep tabs on Jack's little Jilly bean."

"Don't you dare." She laughs, wide eyed at her father's nickname for her. How many years has it been since she heard that one…

"Sorry, forgot for a second that you're all grown up and aren't allowed to be cute anymore."

"You're damn right." She chuckles as Wesker and Enrico enter the office, stacks of paper work between them.

"There's your man." She points towards the man that makes her feel weak in all the worst ways.

"Albert Wesker?" He leaves to have whatever discussion he was sent to have, and Jill turns to face the other two STARS members.

"What are those smirks about?" She asks.

"Jilly bean?" Chris chortles.

"Call me that if you want your nose inverted." She grabs a file from her desk to add a few signatures.

"So… When were you going to tell us that your father figure is a real estate tycoon?" Barry asks.

"He's a what?" Chris deadpans.

"I wasn't?" Jill shrugs, "What can I say? I'm well connected."

"So, mind if I ask who your dad is… was?"

"Yeah, I do mind." She responds quickly, watching him accept her answer with grace.

"Why are you always pulling the kids card, huh, Barry? Might as well just shake peoples' hands with a picture of them already in your hand." Chris teases tensely.

"You'll get it when you're a father someday." Barry says softly.

Jill feels Chris's gaze pass over her and the thought hits her too; them having kids together isn't a crazy thought. A far, far away thought, but not crazy by any stretch of the imagination. Chris would make a good dad, maybe he'd compensate for her being a bad mother.

At the end of the day, Jill and Chris walk out with Mr. Carsevelli, he kisses her head as he climbs into a taxi waiting at the front of the RPD.

"So… That's the guy I have to ask for you hand?" Chris asks with a laugh.

"No, you're not asking anyone if you can marry me, but me." She chuckles.

"Yes ma'am." He shakes his head, "It's nice to see you have someone like that in your life though."

"Someone like that?" She asks.

"Yeah, he clearly means a lot to you."

"You mean a lot to me too."

"Thank god." He chuckles, "I'll pick you up in an hour?"

"Absolutely."


	9. Chapter 9

Jill's starting to think there is no such thing as 'just another day at the office' with STARS, and she isn't sure if she likes it that way or not. It's been a month and some change since her one-year anniversary with STARS and things have only gotten stranger. Not just in the office but the murders popping up, either.

She just so happens to catch Kevin Ryman in the hall as she's on her way back to STARS with official evidence documents.

"You look stressed." She comments, expecting that to be the end of it.

"You would be too if seven women went missing in a two-week period." He says offhandedly.

"Woah are you serious?"

"Yeah." He shakes his head ruefully, "Something's fucked up about this city."

"You're telling me. Cannibals, murderers, kidnappers." She shakes her head, "Some kind of fucked up horror movie script."

"If I had to guess, I'd say the author is closer than we think." He says cryptically.

"They always are." She agrees.

"How's it down in STARS?"

"Just as weird, just as suspicious." She confirms, "Let me know if you're indicting anyone, I have a few people to add to that list."

He gives her a raised brow but says nothing. Somehow an understanding passes between them before Jill is on her way. She likes Kevin, always has. He's a good cop (not like a _good _cop, but he does good work) and Chris says he'd trust the guy with his life. Still, it's nice to know someone in this fucking building also sees how weird shit is getting in Raccoon.

Just as she's walking into the office, the door left open enough that she can easily walk in, she stops dead in her tracks.

"You've had your chance, Redfield. You're taking way too long." Joseph scoffs.

"Really, get your act together. You just going to wait forever?" Brad asks.

"Honestly one of us should fuck her already. God knows she could use a dick in her, instead of that stick up her ass." Forest's voice is teasing, but it feels cruel.

Chris doesn't respond to them and Jill feels the anger rising up in her chest. _Jesus, _she didn't need this.

"I bet Jill's really good in bed too, flexible in all the right ways." Joseph's voice grates against her skin.

"At this rate Wesker's going to get to her first. We can't abandon the poor thing to that fate." Brad smirks.

"Oh god can you imagine? Jill bent over that train wreck of a desk?" Edward laughs manically at the image. "Him all robot fucking her?"

She hears Barry sigh, but he doesn't say anything either. In fact, neither do Enrico or Kenneth, but what irks her even more than the silence is her own feet which practically glued to the ground.

"That's it, I'm going to show her a good time tonight. You losers are going to get a full report in the morning." Forest cackles, "Seriously, girl's gonna get her world fucking rocked."

"I doubt you're capable of that." She walks in, face furious and eyes full of fire. "I don't fuck people who only feel confident talking about someone behind their back. I also don't fuck assholes who have no respect for the women in their lives."

Toe to toe with an embarrassed Forest and an entirely shell-shocked STARS office she watches him stutter dumbly before she covers his mouth.

It's practically a slap, but her grip on his face is firm as she snarls, "If you're gonna talk shit you better be ready to eat it."

No one dares to move as she shoves him back in his seat. Her rage so plain and emanating the men sit by trying to decide if they should stare or avert their gaze.

"Next time say it to my face. Might be more dangerous, but at least you won't get caught jerking off in the middle of the work day."

She gathers as many papers as she can for the copy room and storms back out of the office. She runs back into Kevin who doesn't comment on her shifted attitude, he merely nods an acknowledgement as she busies herself.

There's a lingering presence behind her, but seems to decide against speaking, instead only dropping more files beside her and heading out. It's probably for the best that she spends the rest of the day in relative silence, her self-imposed exile in the copy room only ends when the day has waned far enough away that she can relax just a touch.

She feels the tension rising the moment she steps foot in the door, every STARS member fights not to stare at her entrance. No one opens their mouth; however, they keep their heads down until they're ready to get going for the day. Chris lingers by the door, waiting for Jill to pack her things and join him, she's hesitant at first. Only conceding when it's clear she's can't just linger forever, or he'll stay behind with her.

"Can I come by tonight?" He asks when they reach her car.

"Somehow I doubt I can stop you." She responds tiredly.

"If you really want to be alone-"

"You decide."

She closes her car door and adjusts her things until he's gone from the door. Small isn't the right word for the feeling in her chest, nor is defeat really. Disappointment maybe? Had she really been able to convince herself that things would be different here? Nothing is different where men are concerned, they are primal creatures that don't recognize how to change.

Chris walks into her apartment while she's picking up a few odds and ends around the living room. They stare at one another for a heartbeat, then two.

"I'm sorry Jill."

"Why didn't you stand up for me?" She asks, feeling positively childish but nearly not giving a shit.

"I-… I should have."

"But you didn't. Why?"

"I'm an idiot?" He rounds the couch, hands twisting around themselves.

"Come on, Chris, give me a straight answer." She folds her arms.

"I was afraid of saying too much." He sighs, "Like I wanted to lose my shit on them, but… fuck, Jill."

"Well I did lose my shit on them and now here we are."

"I just… Jesus Christ, Jill, I don't know why but I couldn't speak. I know it's wrong, but part of me felt superior for saying nothing, like because I kept my mouth shut I was somehow better than them." He's got honesty hanging in his eyes, begging her to believe him, "I fucked up, I'm sorry."

"I'm not looking for you to apologize." She says, something tugging at her heart that insists she comfort him.

"I just don't know what to do around you. I just get so much more stupid than even _I'm_ used to… I want to be better for you."

"Hey, I'm not looking for a better version of you." She says resolutely, "If I were I would have dumped you by now and I think we've established that's not going to happen."

He shakes his head gaze stuck on his feet, Jill reaches out, hand on his cheek she guides his gaze towards hers.

"I love you, you know that?"

He smiles sadly, "Of course I do, I just wish I didn't constantly disappoint you."

"You do not constantly disappoint me." She steps forward again, his arms wrapping around her body instinctively. "Only sometimes, but you're human, it happens."

He's about to say something to that has to do with him not deserving her. He says that a lot and she's tired of hearing it. She stops him from opening his mouth by kissing him fiercely, and in response, he takes to her like a tree to good soil. Hands wandering down the lines of her body, he always tells he how beautiful she is, but he absolutely worships her with touch.

She's got his shirt off in record time, pushing him down to the couch she positions herself on her knees straddling his lap. His breath sounds like begging as he struggles with the buckle of her belt, her hands holding his neck; firm yet gentle at the same time. Frustrated he pulls away to give himself a better view of her belt while she takes to nibbling on his ear.

"You're distracting me." He chuckles, finally releasing the belt and tossing it aside.

"Am I?" She asks, lustful and hungry for him.

"I didn't say to stop." His voice is heady as he takes off her shirt, an unintentional sigh falls out of his lips as he drinks her in.

"Since when have I ever listened?" She asks, forcefully bringing her mouth down on his.

Still, he manages to let out a good-natured chuckle between their lips. His hand practically takes up the whole of her back as he pulls her in tighter, and this is the one and only time she revels in being slight. When he holds her like this, so close and so resolutely his grip is iron, she is protected. Safe even.

Fingers twisting up in the strap of her bra, he meddles around with the clasps for a moment, still clearly frazzled and frantic to get her undressed. While she releases his pants with ease giving him teasing eyes as she slips the fabric off his body.

He scrunches his nose at her, playful and reverent, pulling her back the second the article of clothing is discarded. Every part of his body is firm to the touch before melting beneath the heat of her skin, she only feels ownership over him during times like these.

He finally manages to release her bra, it takes all of her restrain not to comment on how incapable he is. He more than makes up for it by paying homage to her chest, sucking and kissing like it's his sole purpose on this earth. Despite knowing that he wants her to moan, to vocalize the feeling of his lips on her body she fights back. If for no other reason than to tease the fuck out of him.

She extracts one of her hands from his hair and reaches down to the bulging fabric separating them.

"You trying to kill me?" He asks, an edge to the laugh emitting from his mouth, tense and excited all at once.

"Something like that." She smirks, before his lips come crashing back to hers.

It's a struggle to get her own pants off, but they manage despite the frantic energy encompassing them entirely.

"A little out of practice?" She teases once her pants finally fall off her ankles.

"Shut up, not all of us can be perfect." He practically growls, pulling her back into a kiss, the movement nearly has her dripping.

"Prefect huh?" She asks in the second she pulls away before crashing back into him.

"Like you don't know it." He rolls his eyes indignantly.

In response, she hovers just enough above him where he's caught in the sensation of touch but isn't fully connected to her. He gasps involuntarily and she is left biting back laughter.

"What was that?"

"You're so cruel." He manages to spit out, eyes intense and heavy with lust.

"I don't think so." She chuckles, moving her hips down so that her body grazes him, eliciting yet another strangled cry.

"Fuck woman, you're either god or the devil and I can't tell which one."

She lets out a laugh at that, after he realizes what he's said he too lets out a laugh. Relenting in the midst of their giggle fit, she eases down on top of him, effortless and practiced. Their lips come together only to break apart for the continued laughter bursting out of them.

Jill does most of the work, rocking her hips and pulsing motions that make her _feel _every single goddamn thing. Though a few times as she raises up in her stroking motion he pushes his own hips up to retain the contact.

Her orgasm comes so much more quickly than she'd expected, unraveling all at once and collapsing against his chest. How he has that kind of effect on her, she isn't totally sure, but she wishes every moment of her life could be spent in his arms. Her head in the crook of his neck, hot breath dispersing on his cheek as her hands lazily fall from his neck and shoulder.

He follows mere seconds after, hips rolling harshly against her nearly limp body until every last ounce of need is gone from his body. Jesus Christ, she's tired, complacent, very nearly certain that this is true fucking love that Disney would never even think of touching.

Somehow, he still has the energy to pull her closer, with a kiss to her forehead he whispers. "I love you so much."

"I love you…" She returns, closing her eyes for a brief moment of ecstasy that no amount of orgasms could ever help her reach.

"You're so perfect." She looks up at him. Her smile basic and plain as she kisses him again.

"You ready for a shower stud muffin?" She teases.

"Mercy, I can't even walk yet." He adjusts his hold on her. "Do you think…"

"Do I think what?"

"It's dumb, never mind." He shakes his head.

"It's probably dumb but tell me anyway."

He chuckles, "Did I rock your world or what?"

She tilts her head back with the force of her laugh, "I think I'm the one who rocked yours."

"Oh really?"

"You disagree?"

"I didn't say that." He chuckles, "Just that I think I'm allowed to stake a partial claim in the world rocking we just did."

"Uhuh, you keep thinking that." She slips off his lap, feeling the twinges of nerve endings as she does, but she needs a damn shower.

"Come on, if I didn't rock your socks you'd never have sex with me again." Breath still heavy he takes in the sight of her, she nearly blushes.

"You're right of course. Having a big dick doesn't hurt your case either." She teases walking off towards the bathroom.

"I'll take it!" He calls after her.

* * *

**So listen, I didn't write the sex, these crazy kiddos did it without me. I didn't mean for this to happen it just kinda... happened. So sorry. But also you're welcome.**

**Thanks as always to irithyll for enabling my addiction!**


	10. Chapter 10

The next day at the office is stiff to say the least. Everyone's on edge and no one will fucking admit it. Jill isn't too keen on the idea of being first to speak up, still she feels like if she doesn't, no one will.

Thankfully, it's Richard who breaks the seal, "So is nobody going to apologize?"

"What do you mean?" Jill asks curiously.

"I think at least half of this office owns you an apology."

"Yeah, you're right." She agrees.

"Is that really what you want?" Barry asks.

"I just want to be treated like a person before I'm a woman, is that so much to ask for?"

Surprisingly, Enrico answers, "Yes."

"Excuse me?" She asks.

"Jill, you were in the military, weren't you?"

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"Look, it's not good and I hate it as much as you do, but you are always going to be a woman before you're a person. I saw it all the time when I was an officer."

"What the fuck-"

"You're not telling me this is something new to you."

"No, it's not new, that doesn't mean it's not bullshit." She retaliates, voice harsh.

Enrico shakes his head ruefully, "It is bullshit, but it's reality."

The anger she feels is in her bones, like every ounce of her is infuriated by what she's hearing. Sure, she's always known that her womanhood is obvious to every thick-skulled man she's ever met; doesn't mean she likes hearing it.

She swears the guys then pass on apologies, but she can't hear them. The words are muddy and confusing in her brain. It shouldn't take a special kind of person to understand human decency, right? It's the 20th century, for Christ's sake.

By one o'clock, her fury has boiled down to a simmer, still upset but not allowing it to get in the way of her work.

Wesker emerges from his office and rattles off assignments, and what comes out of his mouth startles her.

"Jill, you'll be accompanying me to the scene in district 17."

"Um?" Chris starts to speak up as everyone else gets ready to depart.

"Yes, Chris?"

"I'm not assigned?"

"No, you, Forest, Barry, and Brad will be manning the office." He says, irritated as if that wasn't implied information.

"Is there a reason you're taking this case?" Enrico asks.

"Chief thinks there's something else out there he wants me investigating. Personally." Wesker's tone grows more terse as the subject wanes on.

Jill passes a worried glance to Chris as she gets ready to leave. His face is unreadable as she walks out the door. Climbing into a cop car with Albert Wesker is uncomfortable to say the least, she feels like he should be in the back instead of driving, but that's a whole other situation.

"Have you been troubled lately, Jill?" He asks.

"I'm alright, sir." She says.

"There's been commotion in the office the past few days."

"I suppose so." She starts reading through the case file. Another murder, body parts missing, eaten… Jill almost wishes she were the one dismembered.

Wesker says nothing else until they arrive on the scene almost an hour later, investigators have already taped off the area and the STARS captain seems to hold command of the situation in seconds. If she didn't hate the fucker, she'd be impressed.

She starts out with her typical investigation routine, though without Chris she has to pick up more of the evidence work.

"Valentine." Wesker catches her attention and nods her over to another area of the woods, "We're going to take up a trail, get moving."

She finishes her examination of a blood splatter before standing to follow him. There are the occasional blood drips on the ground, as if a bleeding limb was taken from the scene and continued to leak for almost two miles. Otherwise, she grows more and more wary. They're way off target and she can't even hear the other investigators now.

Powerless against the fear in her chest she finally speaks up, "Captain, where are we going?"

He chuckles, back still turned to her as he crouches down to look at something, "Oh, I suppose we're not going anywhere, are we?"

"Then where are you taking me?"

She feels herself bristling, skin chilled and on edge. She's starting to feel more and more like she's been tricked by the big bad wolf and lured down a dark path. She wonders if she's in the presence of the murderer she's been tasked to find. What if she's the Arklay cannibal's next victim?

"I think you're smart enough to figure it out." He stands back up, brushing his hand on his pants.

She regrets what she says next, "Be explicit."

In seconds, he's on her, tree bark digging into her spine as his breath sinks into her skin. A gasp breaks free of his grasp as realization washes over her, his broad forearm pining her shoulders securely to the tree behind her. His free hand pushes up the fabric of her shirt until one gloved hand rests on the tender skin of her stomach.

"You want explicit, Jill? That's what I like about you." His voice is deep, dark like the ocean floor, "Don't say I never gave you what you asked for."

"Get off of me so help me _god_-"

"Is that regret I sense? Oh Jill, I'd hate for you to find out how powerful a man I am." He says, placing his forehead against hers.

She struggles to move away from him, but no matter where she goes, he is right there.

The hand on her stomach moves up to her hair, twisting a strand as he chuckles, "Women like you deserve powerful men to stand beside. You're _lucky_ to have been chosen by me."

"If you don't let go of me, I'll scream!" She threatens, so much fear inside of her that she can't manage to be anything but panicked.

"You won't." He says resolutely, "If you do, the least of your worries will be losing your job."

He presses his leg between her thighs. She feels the holster of his gun and catches his meaning with ease. The other thing she feels, she does her best to ignore. Fear is no longer a word, it becomes her _entire_ being. Jill has never felt so small in her life.

His lips come down on her like a plane crash. At first, she screams and then she dies; accepts her fate because holy hell is she afraid. Allowing him to assault her body with merely a scream behind her crushed lips and practically turns to ash in his grasp. God, what she wouldn't give to be dead.

"Make the right choice, Jill. You know there is one." He says when he's pulled away, dropping his hold on her and walking off before she can regain her bearings enough to attack him.

In a moment of sheer rage, she twists around and punches the tree, feeling the distinct crack of her knuckles as the contact is made.

"FUCK!" She shouts holding her burning wrist after the fact. It's not broken though she wishes it were. Maybe that would act as a sufficient enough distraction from whatever the fuck she'd just endured at the hands of a monster.

Suddenly she hears a rustling from the thickest part of the forest. She pulls out her gun and readies herself. She doesn't expect to see Chris storming out from the cover he'd been (apparently) hidden behind, but she definitely doesn't expect Barry to be gripping Chris's bicep as if to restrain him.

"Chris? Barry? What the hell are you doing here?" Jill asks, lowering her gun, chest still hot with emotion as they approach.

"_Killing_ _fucking_ _Wesker_." Chris snarls, pulling back the safety of his gun.

"Chris." Barry says warningly.

"How did you get here?" Jill clarifies her question, standing between him and the direction in which Wesker exited the scene.

"It doesn't matter." He says, eyes hard and furious on her. Barry manages to get the gun out of Chris's hand while he's distracted.

"_Barry_." He says warningly.

"Chris, you can't just kill the fuck knot." Barry says,

"Why the hell not?" Chris bares his teeth at the older man.

"Look at me." Jill forces Chris's face back towards hers. Despite how unsettled she is by his rage she speaks firmly. "Why are you here?"

"I thought it was suspicious that Wesker came into the field. I didn't want to be right… Jill, I'm so sorry." He shakes his head, clearly trying to sort through his emotions.

"It's not your fault." Jill takes his hand. She can't really be fucked if Barry sees them like this, Chris is going to go on a murder spree for her if she doesn't stop him.

"I shouldn't have let you go with him, I should have told you to report his ass sooner." Chris looks like he's trying to decide who he should be angrier with: Wesker or himself.

"Reporting does shit." Jill shakes her head, "This was bound to happen eventually."

"Like hell it was." Barry can't help himself, "Talk is one thing, assault is another."

"It's something I always have and always will have to suck up; it's part of being in this field."

"No, no!" Chris practically shouts, "You don't have to deal with this Jill, what the fuck-"

"Reporting this kind of shit is just to leave a paper trail, it's not for us, it's for the company to cover its ass. The last time this happened-"

"The last time!? What last time!?" Chris demands.

"Back in the military. They just reassign you. No charges, nothing, you just get to start the fucking cycle all over again." She sighs, "Because I'll always be a woman first, right?"

"You're not going to just take this sitting down, are you?" Barry asks, disbelief clear in his tone.

"What choice do I have?"

"Report this! Christ, report his ass!" Chris is incredulous with her.

"Did you not hear me? Reporting. Does. _Nothing_." She reiterates.

"We have your back Jill. We'll go with you." Barry says calmly.

"You don't get it." She shakes her head, "It doesn't matter how many witnesses or statements or _anything _else I have. He's my boss, it will _always _be my fault, and even if I do report him it's just going to make my life worse."

"How can things get worse?" Chris is absolutely exasperated.

"You think he can't hurt people? Can't hurt me?"

"I won't let him." Chris says confidently.

"And what if he hurts you?" She retorts, "I'm stuck, I can't do shit."

"No, you cannot give up like this." Barry says harshly, "I'm not about to let this shit slide, this isn't right."

"Well guess what? Right isn't reality, this is how shit is." She shakes her head. There's a sense of loss falling on her shoulders. "You should go, before he gets back and sees you here."

"No, I'm not leaving until I can wring his neck." Chris says.

"Do this for me, please!" She practically begs, voice cracking as she places a hand on his chest.

His gaze softens to apologetic at the way she nearly crumbles before him, he's got her in his sure steady arms in seconds. Hand wrapped up in her hair as he kisses her forehead. Jill spots Barry's small sad smile as Chris grips her, somehow this is ever so fitting for them.

She pulls away and looks Chris dead in the eye, "We'll talk later, okay? Just please go back, if he finds you here he'll punish me, not you."

"Okay…" Chris clearly doesn't want to leave, nor does he want to fight her. Instead he kisses her lips. A breath of fresh air after kissing that dog Wesker, it's short and solemn but she takes it greedily.

Chris and Barry head back towards the rest of the investigation while Jill turns to where Wesker disappeared to. Captured by curiosity, she memorizes the area, tries to surmise what could be beyond the thicket of trees but is too afraid to follow. Mind conjuring up images of what could possibly happen if he did find her following him, she shudders violently.

Wholly unsettled, Jill races back to the scene and luckily Chris and Barry are nowhere to be found. The investigation is all wrapped up by the time Wesker returns. His very presence has her on edge, but she says exactly nothing even once they're in the car.

Half way back, his hand finds its way to her thigh.

Unable to bite her tongue any longer she lashes out, "Don't touch my leg."

Grinning, he slips his hand between her legs, fingers pressing against her center, to which she roughly throws his hand off of her. Face burning and body near trembling, she turns her gaze to the window hoping to see some kind of disaster to end this misery.

He gives a sordid laugh, "This will be fun, won't it?"

Jill isn't the type of person to cry, especially not in front of her boss, but _Christ, _she nearly loses it right then and there. The second they're parked, she's out of the car and back in the STARS office. Just about everyone is back including Barry and Chris; neither of whom say a word but stare enough to make her feel the weight of it.

She starts sorting through papers until Wesker enters the office. He says nothing, doesn't even glance at her, but his presence brings Jill down a notch. She feels a lone tear break free of her eye, despite how discreet she feels she is wiping it away, Chris roughly stands from his desk.

"Chris, are you alright?" She asks, an urgent warning infiltrating her tone. The office has snapped their gaze towards him, a fact which isn't lost on him.

She isn't certain he's breathing, the rage inside of him is so all consuming it's becoming him, but he manages to take himself out of the office instead of killing Wesker. Barry gives Jill a sympathetic smile as everyone else comments on how strange Chris has been acting all afternoon. Jill can't hear any of the words anyone speaks; instead she packs her things slowly.

By the time he's back, everyone else is walking out slowly, the end of the day finally upon them. Chris looks like hell, but she doesn't say anything until they're in the parking lot.

"You're coming over?" She asks.

"Yeah." His voice sounds almost raw as he parts ways with her.

Chris is waiting for her at her apartment complex, he's still very clearly angry, but more than that, he looks defeated.

She lets him inside and in seconds he's speaking. "We're going to HR tomorrow, you're reporting his ass and we're getting you a lawyer."

"Chris, please calm down-"

"First of all, I am calm all things considered, because killing him is still 100% on the table. Second, I don't really care if you think reporting this will do nothing, I can't sit by and let him get away with this."

Jill, at a loss for anything else to do, grabs his hands, "I can't do that."

"Give me one good reason."

"I'm so fucking scared of him." She admits for the first time out loud. "I… I just… I'm so scared."

Once again, Chris wraps her up in his arms and holds her firmly, lips pressed to the top of her head as she shudders against him. She can't be certain if she's really crying or not, it's been so long since the last time she let herself cry the feeling is unfamiliar.

"Never mind, we're killing him."

"Chris, please." She shakes her head, "You know we can't-"

"We work for the fucking police. We could make it look like an accident." He's so serious a part of her dies inside.

"I know." She takes her hands and holds her face, trying to center herself. The wetness of her cheeks spurs a shuddering cathartic sob throughout her body. Chris lifts her up in his arms with a quiet strength and carries her to the bedroom. Taking a seat on the bed, he props her on his knee. Part of her wants to hide from him, the other wants to revel in the comfort he emanates; caught between two wants she settles for forcing her face into his shoulder.

It takes a solid ten minutes for her to calm down. The tears keep coming and coming, part of her wonders if the tide of emotion will ever stop. When she finally looks up, she realizes his eyes are not dry either. Though he's got no tears streaming down his cheeks, there's no denying the emotion laying just beyond.

"I'm sorry." She cracks through the thickness of her turmoil.

"Don't apologize for that waste of space." He assures her, lifting her hands and kissing the sore skin.

"I just… I don't know what to do." She thinks of the feeling of Wesker's hand on her thigh and internalizes the anger. "He could hurt us, he could do it."

"I don't exactly give a fuck, Jill." Chris says, "Come what may, I'm going to be here for you, he can try whatever the hell he wants-"

"He could kill us just as easily as we could kill him." She says back, "Probably with less hesitation too."

"I'm not going to watch him do this to you."

Shaking her head, Jill sits up kissing him for just a moment to breathe, to revel in silence and clear her damn mind. Kissing Chris is like a reset button, gives her time and clarity. He's at the center of her damn universe and right now is no different.

His hand cups her jaw, thumb absentmindedly stroking her cheek. "I love you."

"I love you so much." She returns, earnest as ever. "I uh… I have to shower, I feel dirty."

He pulls her in tighter, kissing her with vigor and a gentle sweeping motion of his hand across the back of her neck. She wonders if she should feel traumatized, if she should feel the ghosts of Wesker's hand instead of Chris's. Even thinking this, the man before her takes up every thought in her head, Chris Redfield is the love of her life, no ifs ands or buts about it.

He allows her to shower alone, water so hot it could catch fire against her skin as she scrubs away the day. Her thoughts run away from her, lingering on the question of where the _hell_ Wesker went afterwards. The detective in her tries to reason that she should return and follow the track, the more rational side of her think that's a garbage idea. But what if…

She walks into the kitchen to see Chris heating up leftovers for them, he's changed into some clothes he'd left once before and she'd washed for him. He isn't totally moved in, but he probably should be in all honesty, he practically lives with her. He needs to keep his apartment for Claire, extra bedroom and all. They've already discussed getting a two bedroom when their leases are up, but Jill wishes his presence were permanent now.

"Feel any better?" He asks, sympathy and sadness dancing together in his voice.

"Yeah." She gives a small smile, walking up to him leaving a whisper of a kiss on his jaw. "I love you."

He puts his hand around her waist, kissing the tip of her nose, "I love you too."

"You're hungry?" She asks, knowing he almost always is but she wants to keep talking.

Maybe conversation, normal and domestic, will force her mind away from everything else.

"I think we both need to eat." He says.

"Maybe you're right."

The idea of eating turns her stomach, but she busies herself with grabbing plates and silverware. Despite herself, she asks, "Was Barry okay?"

"He was understandably upset, he almost spilled the beans when we got back… Forest made some comment about Barry and I having a sordid affair… Barry nearly punched his lights out."

"Would have been impressive, Barry hasn't ever lost his cool." Jill hands him a plate to dish leftovers.

"He didn't try anything after we left… right?"

Jill stalls at the thought, her thigh feeling dirty all over again.

Chris gives her a pointed look, "That mother fucker-"

"Let's just eat." She interrupts him setting her hardly occupied plate down at the table.

"What did he do?" He sits beside her despite the demanding in his tone.

"Please don't make me say it." She shakes her head.

What little appetite she'd had flees from her.

"Jill." His tone is a strange conglomeration of ire and incredulousness. Jill reaches out her hand, mimicking the movement Wesker had preformed on her hours before. Chris raises a fist to his mouth standing from the table and pacing around the kitchen. Jill pulls her knees to her chest, table manners be damned, she wants to disappear.

"He's dead. He is a _dead man_." Chris crouches beside her, frantic energy desperate for her approval, "You can't tell me this fuck deserves to live."

She puts her hands on either side of his face, "Only one of us is allowed to have a body count in this relationship and it's me."

"Jill for the love of god." He stands up from her.

"Chris, I'm not saying I wouldn't gladly put him six feet under, it's just that we _can't_." She stands up wrapping her arms around him, face pressed firmly into his back.

"Barry would help me, hell the entirety of STARS would probably help me take his ass down." Chris says, hands gripping the countertop.

"It's scary how right you are, so stop it before this becomes a plan." Jill says, feeling him shift around.

"I'm canceling my trip to see Claire."

"No, you're not." Jill shakes her head.

"I'm not leaving you with that monster, Jill."

"I have Barry."

"I can't do that, I have to do something even if it's just being present."

"Claire misses you like crazy, I couldn't stand it if you stayed on my behalf." Jill shakes her head, guilt creeping up behind her like a shadow.

"You're the woman I'm going to marry, Claire will understand." They both take those words in for a minute eyes locked with one another, broken smiles and tired gazes shared as they tie their fingers together.

"You already have the time off, you need to go."

"No."

"Chris, you're going."

"I'm staying with you if it kills me."

"I will load that plane up with your ass myself if I have to, Chris Redfield, don't try me."

"I'm not going to fight you on this."

"Neither am I."

They have a second of a stalemate before Chris relents shaking his head, vexed by her stubbornness but unwilling to strain her emotions anymore for the night.

"You should eat."

She turns back towards their abandoned dinner at the mention. The idea of eating makes her want to vomit, but she's fought with him enough today.

They take up their seats, eat quietly for a few minutes and then they curl up in bed. Easy breath and chillingly light touches, she listens to the beat of his heart while his fingers stroke the back of her neck. For a few blissful moments she finds herself at peace, mind quiet and humbled by the thrumming beneath her ear.

"Please tell me this is the first time this has happened." He says suddenly.

"Elaborate." She says thoughtfully, tracing patterns on his chest with her fingertips.

"You mentioned that something happened to you in the military."

"Oh… _that_."

"God, Jill." He sighs pulling her a fraction of an inch closer, his chin just on top of her head.

"It wasn't so bad… My drills sergeant decided to shove his hand down my shirt in broad daylight." She chuckles heavily, "That how I ended up getting reassigned to the squad that took me to Somalia actually. On the bright side I got reassigned really quick, almost no hassle…"

He kisses her forehead, "I want to protect you so badly…"

"I wish you could." She tells him.

"Then let me."

She sits up and kisses him so intensely she feels the weight of it in her toes. "I'm trying to… but it's hard."

"I know." He rasps against her lips.

"It's always been just me against the world." He nods biting her lip to pull her back into him. "There's no one else I'd rather face this with."

"Partners, till the end?"

"Till the end of the world." She agrees practically collapsing on him with kisses and touch, how hungry she is for the loving kind of touch that only he can give her. That sustainable lingering touch that she feels for weeks afterwards, sometimes she's convinced something ties them together like fate or god or something unfathomable connected them. She couldn't fight this love even if she wanted to.

That next morning as they walk into the RPD together, she halts suddenly.

"Jill, it's okay-"

"I'm uh… I'll meet you in the office, okay?"

"I'm here for you."

"I know, I have to do something real quick, just give me a few minutes. Love you, see you in a second." She gives his hand a squeeze and walks up the stairs towards HR. There's a confidence in her step that she loses the second she walks into Randal's office.

"Jill Valentine, how can I help you today?" He smiles so easily at her she practically chokes on her words as they come out of her mouth. God she hopes this doesn't back fire on her.


	11. Chapter 11

She walks into the office uncharacteristically late with both Chris and Barry's attention landing on her in seconds.

"Morning." She greets them, sitting down at her desk, nerves finally flooding out of her.

"Morning. How are you?" Barry asks.

"I'm good, you?" She retorts, picking up where she left off on files. Barry merely nods his response before taking a seat, Chris still passing glances her way until Randal walks into the office files in hand.

"Chris Redfield, could I have a moment of your time?" He asks.

Chris's gaze immediately flicks up to Jill she gives him the slightest bit of a nod before he heads out of the office.

"Ooo somebody's in trouble." Richard teases once the door is closed.

"I always knew it would end like this. He will be missed." Brad wipes away a tear.

"You're too much." Jill snorts.

"Didn't think we'd have to plan a going away party like this. Really thought we'd make it to Edward's wedding before someone just up and got fired." Joseph chuckles.

"I'm sure it will be a very nice party." Jill says with a smirk.

"Oh _all _the works." Forest snorts, "This is Chris we're talking about. We can't schlep our way through this."

Chris is back a few minutes later, looking baffled and awestruck as he takes up his seat.

"Everything okay?" Kenneth asks over his work.

"Yeah, just some time-off stuff I had to sort out." He waves them off.

"And here we were planning a beautiful going away party for you." Forest rolls his eyes, "Ungrateful bastard."

"I'm touched." Chris quips back.

"I'm going on a coffee run, you in?" Jill asks, standing up from her desk.

"Yeah totally."

He eagerly joins her by the door. They're silent for the walk out of the building, all the way to the traffic light where they wait to cross.

"You told HR about our relationship."

She nods, "Yup."

"Why?"

"Would you believe that I panicked?" She asks, stepping onto the street as the light flashes for them to cross.

"But… _Why_?" He asks again completely at a loss for words.

"We were going to have to report it at some point." She says nervously, "I wanted to tell him about yesterday, I just couldn't. I was already in the office, so I just ran my mouth… you're not mad, are you?"

"Of course, I'm not mad at you, I'm surprised." He shakes his head as they walk into the coffee shop, Jill hands the barista her note card of orders. "Are we telling the office then?"

"I hadn't thought about that… I'm still afraid of what _he'll_ say. Or do." She hands off a card to pay for the drinks.

"We can wait until I'm back from visiting Claire." He says, reaching for her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze.

Jill gives him a grateful smile as they wait for their order. There's a hint of a blush just beneath her skin that allows her to feel placated. Even in the face of all this embarrassment and hardship, Chris will still be with her, it's a kind of loyalty she isn't used to.

Wesker says nothing to her that day or the next few days. Though, Jill keeps asking herself why he's chosen to keep his distance now, she appreciates it. Her thoughts keep floating back to that damn trail. Where the hell did he go after attacking her like that? You'd think he'd have dragged her off there… Right? What the hell is out in the Arklays?

Chris leaves for his visit with Claire, still reluctant that Wednesday morning as Jill is helping him load up into the taxi.

"Tell me to say and I will."

"Go, tell Claire I miss her." She says softly, "I'll be here, don't worry too much."

"You're sure?"

"Positive." She kisses him quickly, "Call me when you get there, okay?"

"Of course." He sighs, "Don't hesitate to call me if something happens."

"Got it." She promises sending him off towards the airport.

Part of her does wish he'd stayed, the other part of her knows it's for the best. She can't allow herself to rely on him for safety.

Work is dull to say the least, just piles upon piles of paperwork; and Wesker seems to have ceased existing, much to her relief.

"You ready to go?" Barry asks her at the end of the day.

"Huh?" She asks, "I'm going to finish this, why?"

"Um…" Barry glances at the other guys who are sufficiently distracted or already leaving the office. "Chris asked me to make sure you got home okay."

"I'll be fine, thanks." She says, deciding perhaps it is for the best that she leave with the rest of them. "How's Kathy?"

"Good, she's good." Barry says lightly, "She sends her best."

"Barry." Jill sighs.

"I couldn't not tell her, Jill, I'm sorry." He says nervously, "Jesus Christ, _she_ thinks Wesker's a freak and she's never even met him. She wanted to let you know she's got a lawyer friend if you need help."

"I'm okay Barry… but tell her thank you for me."

"I will, sorry again." He says leaving her at her car.

Jill takes a deep breath looking at the car clock as soon as it pops on. There's three-ish hours until sunset… Could she possibly go back there?

"Fuck it." She says to the air and drives off towards the forest, finding the spot she and Wesker had been investigating with ease.

Taking a second to thank god for daylight savings, she hops out of the car, gun in hand she walks purposefully. It startles her how familiar these woods are to her, how simple it is for her to find the patch of forest where her assault took place.

"Alright, Jill, you've got this." She mutters to herself pressing forward in the direction that's been haunting her for days now.

Gun raised just in case she encounters a murderer, or Wesker – god what she wouldn't give to pop a cap in his ass. Sure, she had been the one convincing Chris not to do anything drastic, that didn't mean she didn't also have the deep seeded desire to do it herself.

It's a sudden shift. The trees start to thin and the grass feels dead beneath her feet. She's starting to feel the fear in her throat, thinks that maybe she should turn back. She doesn't; instead she presses forward until she looks up at the looming figure of a fucking mansion staring back at her.

A murder castle, _fucking_ _perfect_. Jill silently ticks off one point to her as she pulls out her map of the area. She's got a lot of crazy ideas floating around in her head; this one, however, might take the cake for asylum-worthy. Afterall, there's a lot of mental gymnastics that get her to the conclusion she's settled on. She's asked herself a lot of 'what if' questions during the drive over.

Coordinates noted on her map, she shoves it back in her pocket, and looks up just in time to catch the gaze of… god only knows what the fuck that thing is… a dog? With its… skin melting off?

She doesn't exactly get the full picture, she's too busy scrambling away, thinking all the while, _what_ _the_ _ever_-_living_ _fuck_?

She hears the barking behind her. Heart lodged in her throat she takes off back towards the thickest part of the forest. Instinct taking over, she fires one then two, three shots into its head. Perfect hits, but the damn thing falls over for only a few moments each time.

"What the hell?" She asks to no one in particular.

Running, shooting, and running again Jill manages to finally kill the damn thing or at least she hopes so. She doesn't stop sprinting back to her car to check. Once she's in the front seat she peels out of the lot in seconds, only buckling herself in after she's been on the road for a minute.

Swallowing what she's just witnessed she finally manages to vocalize her suspicions.

"Was that a zombie? Dog? Thing?" She asks herself, "I'm fucking off my rocker but…"

Jesus Christ, she couldn't even fathom what she'd just witnessed, was that for real? Did Wesker's goddamn murder castle have its own personal guard of zombie dogs? What kind of fucked up bullshit…

She pulls into the parking lot of her apartment complex and is struck with the sudden demanding urge to vomit. Rushing up to her apartment she barely manages to keel over the toilet in time. Her whole body seems to be rejecting what just happened. Breath heavy in her chest, she pulls out that map again, staring it down as if she can't even remember going there.

But she was there, and she saw that… thing.

Just as she's gathering herself, she hears the phone ring. Picking herself off the bathroom floor, she answers.

"Hello?" She asks, covering her mouth when the rasping burn in the back of her throat resurfaces.

"Hey, I made it." Chris answers, she can almost hear him smiling.

"That's great, how's Claire?" She asks splaying out the map on her counter top.

"She's good, super happy to have me. Right, Claire?" Jill hears nothing until he comes back on. "I promise she said she loves me."

"I believe you." Jill chuckles, breath catching in her chest. "How was your flight?"

"Fine, no surprises."

"That's good."

"Are you alright?" He asks.

"Uh… Yeah." She says nervously, swallowing harshly.

"Jill." He warns.

"I don't want you to worry about me."

"_Jill_."

"I threw up, but I'm fine." She claims quickly, reasoning in her own head that it isn't a lie.

"Oh, are you okay? Did something happen?"

"You mean with Wesker?"

"Let's not say that name, but yeah."

"No, I think I just ate something…" She tries to ignore the spinning room as she takes a seat.

"You don't think you're sick?"

"No, like I said, I'm okay."

"You're sure? You don't have a fever?"

She's pretty sure she does but she doesn't say that. "I'm fine, Chris."

"Are you going to call out from work tomorrow?"

"I don't know yet, I'll keep you posted." She promises lamely.

"Okay…" He sounds so sad and far away. For the first time, Jill feels the distance between them.

"Sorry, I didn't want to make you feel bad. I know it means a lot to Claire for you to visit and-"

"I feel guilty that I'm here and you're not well. I wish I were there to take care of you."

"There's plenty of time for that some other time." She chuckles biting back the bile stuck in the back of her throat. "Can I have a second?"

"Sure."

She hurries back to the bathroom to expel and residual crap in her throat. Part of her wants to curl up on the floor and pass out there, but she spurs herself back to the phone and curls up on the couch instead.

"Sorry about that." She coughs in hopes of helping the burning stop, it doesn't work.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."

"Did you throw up again?"

"… Maybe." She feels like she's being scolded in another time zone and she's annoyed about it.

"Aw, Jill-"

"So what are you and Claire doing?" She asks, desperate for a change of topic.

"Not much, she showed me campus, I met her roommate, we went to dinner. We're back at my hotel for the night."

"Sounds like a lot to me."

"Yeah, I guess it was now that you mention it."

"That sounds nice though." She says imagining she were the one far away instead of stuck in Raccoon City with fucking zombie dogs and Wesker.

"Yeah, it's good to hang out with her again." He sighs on the other side of the phone, "You're sure you don't have a fever?"

"Chris, what are you going to do about it if I do? You're in another state, enjoy yourself."

"I'm just… I miss you and now you're sick and I feel like I left you to the wolves."

_Don't say wolves._

"I'll give you hell for it when you get back, don't worry about it. Have fun with Claire or I'll be upset with you."

"Yes ma'am." He chuckles.

"I don't want to cut this short, but I'm going to take something and get to bed here."

"That's a good idea, take care of yourself okay?"

"I will, talk to you tomorrow?"

"Absolutely, I love you."

"I love you too." She smiles softly to herself as she hangs up the phone.

Gathering all the courage inside of her she stands back up to observe the map, what the hell else could be in there?

She's dialing the number before she even realizes it.

"Hello?"

"Hey Allen, it's Jill Valentine."

"Well, fuck me, how've you been?" He laughs from the other side of the phone.

"I've been better." She sighs, "You remember that super-secret mission you weren't supposed to tell me about?"

"… No." He says covering his ass as always.

"I've got a lead."

There's a beat of silence, "Tell me about it."


	12. Chapter 12

She goes to work in spite of herself that Thursday, mostly because of Allen's advice to stay sharp and act natural. He's a bastard, but he's a bastard who knows what he's talking about. Part of her still feels like vomiting and the other part of her can't stand the idea of being that helpless right now.

Wesker is out of his office when she arrives. Her heart beat gets faster knowing that she'll likely have to face him today. He's probably planned it like this too, fully intending to lull her into a false sense of complacency before smacking her with reality.

She sits at her desk, wondering if she should just fucking force herself to puke so that she can go home. Instead, she does her work, skipping lunch in favor of burying her fear as deeply as she can manage.

Then Wesker appears and who he has with him almost kills Jill.

"Everyone, your attention. I'd like you to meet our new intern, Rebecca Chambers. She'll be with us over the summer to see if she's a good fit for STARS."

The young girl waves eagerly at the team and Jill catches Wesker's smirk. The way he practically says, 'if I can do that to you, imagine what I can do to _her_.'

Jill paints a smile on her face as she greets her along with the other STARS members.

"Welcome to the team."

She shakes the young girl's hand.

"You must be Jill! Captain Wesker told me a lot about you!" She says brightly.

Jill tries to bite back her emotions.

"Well, you've got your work cut out for you. Keeping these boys in check can be quite the challenge."

"She's been assigned to Bravo team, but I assume you'll be taking her under your wing, Jill." Wesker says.

if he were capable of inflection, she'd imagine this sentence was meant to be coy.

"Of course," Jill agrees, "Out of curiosity, how old are you, Rebecca?"

"Oh, I just turned eighteen." She says nervously. "But I'm thrilled to be here, even as an intern."

Eighteen… Eight-_fucking_-teen! Jill looks at Wesker for a second before replying.

"Don't worry, I joined the military at seventeen. If you know what you want, there's no reason to wait."

"Wow."

Rebecca looks embarrassed that she let that proclamation slide, but Jill puts a hand on her shoulder in response.

"We're thrilled to have you." Jill says softly before turning back to her desk.

Wesker's just achieved a whole new level of fucking awful if he's really trying to hire some barely legal kid to fulfill a sex fantasy.

Her face is hot as the young girl leaves. The other guys meander around the office, joking and jesting all the while. Enrico approaches her desk with reports but stops when he sees her face.

"You alright, Jill?" He asks, handing her the files. "You look pale."

"Yeah, I'm fine." She says, voice weaker than she wants it to be. "I, uh…I was sick yesterday after work, but I'm fine."

"You don't look fine. You look like you're running a fever."

Can fear do that to a person? Or is it the guilt of the situation?

"I'm alright, Enrico. Thanks for worrying about me, but I'm fine." She shrugs him off.

"You didn't eat today either. You sure you're alright?" Barry comments from his desk.

"Yes." She sighs.

"Uhuh." Barry muses.

"Look, the day's almost over. I'll survive another hour."

"Fine, but don't come in tomorrow." Enrico says.

"I'm sorry?"

"You shouldn't come into the office while you're sick. Take tomorrow off. You haven't used any of your hours anyway."

"I'm okay, really."

"Take the hours, Valentine. Some of us would kill for them." Edward calls from his desk.

"Nobody cares about your honeymoon, Dewey."

Brad flings a wad of paper at him.

"Take tomorrow off." Enrico reiterates, leaving her the documents. While this turn of events works for her, she's annoyed about it.

As the work day draws to a close, she hears Richard mention Rebecca's graduation…from high school… _high school_. Wesker's lust really doesn't have any boundaries.

Jill hurries to her car, Barry following after her with instructions to feel better. She isn't sure she'll ever feel better knowing that the fate of a high schooler is in her hands. God help her.

When she gets home, her instincts say 'calm the fuck down,' but she's dialing Chris before she can stop herself. He doesn't answer because he's probably out with Claire, but, Jesus, she _needs _him to pick up.

Instead, she calls Allen and tells him about the change in her schedule. He seems uncharacteristically excited about it, and changes her flight with something like glee in his tone. She's learned a lot of things in her career and one of those is 'never mess with a madman's plans,' so she leaves him to it.

Chris calls her back about half an hour later, his voice even and unbothered. "Hey, the front desk said you called."

"Yeah, I did." She sighs, "Wesker hired a fucking high schooler."

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm hoping he did it to intimidate me and not because he plans on _fucking _her, but oh my god, Chris."

"Jill, slow down. What are you talking about?"

"Wesker. Hired. An. _Eighteen_. _Year_. _Old_. Girl." Jill says, explicit and punctuated.

"Why?"

"Hell if I know! He says she's an intern, but I think he's trying to play some fucked up game? I don't know."

"That's a whole other level of fucked." Chris says.

"I'm starting to think killing him was a better choice."

"I'm glad you can admit that." He chuckles, "When does she start?"

"Next week... She hasn't even _graduated_."

"Oh my god."

"I know."

"If he tries anything, we _will_ be killing him this time." He says resolutely.

"I agree." Jill relents, "Poor thing. She's so sweet, innocent even. God only knows why she's joining STARS."

"How are you? You feel any better today?"

"Apparently not." She scoffs before explaining, "Enrico's forcing me to take tomorrow off. I guess I look like hell."

"You're beautiful." He says sweetly.

"Uhuh, I got reamed for looking like death." She regrets saying it and Chris sighs on the other side of the line.

"I'm sorry you're not feeling well and have to deal with Wesker's bullshit on top of it."

"It's just stress, Chris. I'd know by now if it was a bug."

"I should have stayed with you." He says regretfully.

"No, I'm glad you went so you don't have to be here for this." She says, "You're having a good time with Claire, right?"

"Yes, but that's not the point."

"It's far more worth it to me that you're enjoying your time with Claire than you being here with me, sick and pissed off."

There's a second of silence before he speaks, "You're amazing, you know that?"

"You're the one being sweet and caring right now." She corrects him, "Just try not to worry about me. I want you to enjoy your weekend."

"That's what I mean, you're miserable but you still want me to enjoy myself. Christ, Jill, it's taking all of my willpower not to hop on a plane and be with you."

"Well, keep that up. I don't want to see you until Sunday night." She chuckles, "What did you guys do today?"

"Oh… just some stuff. Meals, a museum, nothing big to report on."

"Really?" She asks, noticing the twinge in his tone.

"Yeah. You're sure you don't want me to cut this short?"

"I want you to spend time with your sister, even if it kills you." She laughs. "Give her my best."

"I will… did you just get home?"

"Not exactly, why?"

"You should probably get some rest if Enrico is forcing you to stay home."

"You're probably right." She agrees. "I love you."

"Talk to you tomorrow?"

"Of course."

"Love you. Get some sleep, okay?"

"I will." She agrees before he hangs up.

There's nothing she wants more than to tell him that she's not going to sleep and that she's getting on a nearly two-hour flight to DC so that she can fucking take Wesker down. But, when dealing with the FBI, you can't just go around saying shit.

There isn't much to do for the hour lapse it takes for her car to arrive, even less once she's on the plane. All she can do is think about why she's even doing this in the first place. It's to protect Chris, herself, _Rebecca_, and countless other people Wesker could hurt. So why is the guilt still sitting inside of her?

Allen's waiting for her at the airport, smirk cocky as ever as he greets her fresh off the plane.

"It's been awhile."

"You know it's for the best that we stay away from each other. Shit goes down when we breathe in the same room." She hugs him with a laugh.

"I'm glad you got into contact with me. Otherwise, I was going to have to do it and we both know how great of a communicator I am." He teases.

They climb into the car and she feels out of place despite it only being the two of them and the driver.

"So, what makes you think Albert Wesker is in with Umbrella?" He asks bluntly.

"How many developers do you know that build mansions in the middle of nowhere? I know you've looked at the coordinates. It's off the grid, but I'm telling you... it's real."

"I believe you, Jill. You know I trust you with my life." He puts his bad hand over his chest as if to reiterate the point, "I only have to convince my superiors to follow the lead. I know it's good."

"Does it help that the guy isn't in any systems?" She asks, "I ran his name through the databases in my offices, but there's nothing. By all intents and purposes, Albert Wesker doesn't exist."

"You think he's a spy."

"I think he's not human, but that's another story." She huffs.

"You keep your mouth shut when we get in there, alright? Just follow my lead and we'll get you inside."

"Look, I don't need a team," She says, "I need a partner."

"I'm listening." He leans back, arms folded.

"I'm not sure what's in there, so I'm not going in alone, but I'm not about to let an entire squad loose in that freaking murder mansion. I just need one other person to have my back."

"You have someone in mind?"

_Chris_.

"No."

"Hmm… I do, if you can get over him being an ex-marine."

Jill instinctively wrinkles her nose at the thought of a marine. "Ex?"

"They're accusing him of some garbage that can't be true. His record is completely clean otherwise. I want to give the guy a chance to redeem himself."

"Do I know him?"

Allen shakes his head, "Not unless you know a Billy Coen."

"Never heard of him." She sits back, partially relieved to leave Chris out of this mess… _for_ _now_.

"Getting you a partner will be easy. I don't know how much back up I can provide, but I'll do my best."

"I trust you, Allen. For some reason, people just can't say no to you." Jill smirks knowingly.

"Remind me why I'm helping you again?"

"Because I'm doing your dirty work, as usual."

He chuckles, "Just like old times."

She's not allowed in the briefing room while Allen is busy convincing his bosses to let her do this mission. While not entirely in disbelief, she's startled by the ease she feels. Being in the FBI headquarters should be intimidating. Knowing that she may very well be preparing to go into a fucking warzone should be scary.

But all she feels is calm indifference. Maybe she has the heart of a soldier after all, or maybe it's knowing that Wesker's murder castle is about to be outed. Either option makes her feel powerful, like she's finally back in control of the situation, thank _god _for that.

The meeting ends, or at least she hopes so with the way people are flooding out of the conference room. Allen brings up the back end of the group and approaches her with a file.

"Come with me."

"Am I in trouble?"

"Yes, but that's only because we're sending you in." He says, "Time for you to meet Coen."

"This guy killed twenty-three people?" She asks while going through the file.

"To be frank, no, I don't believe he did, but that's between him and God."

Allen presses the elevator call button.

"Now, once you've convinced him you'll suit up, who knows what kind of cameras and shit are in there. Your integrity comes first, under no circumstances do you give yourself away. Got that?"

They get in the elevator together.

"Yes, sir."

"I mean it, none of that do-good-er shit."

"Alright, fine."

She rolls her eyes as they reach their stop.

"Now go convince him to work with you." He says, pointing her towards one of the rooms.

"Just like that?"

"You're too smart for your own good, you'll figure out." He says, "Now go before you waste my time."

"Well, I guess it's time to go, Free Billy." She teases lamely.

"I hate you so much." Allen shakes his head.

She rolls her eyes as she approaches the room and two armed guards allow her access. The guy looks rough, like he's been in prison for weeks and no one let him cut his hair or wash it for that matter.

He's sulking in his seat and doesn't look up at her entrance.

"Billy Coen?" She asks.

"You some kind of lawyer? If so, you're too late, I'm already dead." He says harshly.

"I'm not a lawyer, but I do have an opportunity for you." She sits across from him, "How do you feel about staying alive and finding evidence to convict a massive cooperation?"

He narrows his gaze at her, "You can't be serious."

"I am, all I need you to do is be my partner on this mission and we'll get on this road to hell." She passes him the notes she has on the investigation they're planning, including his own file with a redacted sentence.

After thumbing through the pages, he looks up at her. "You're really going to do this?"

"I am, are you in?"

He smirks, "Sign me up."

* * *

**You can thank irithyll for that shitty Free Billy joke making the final cut.**


	13. Chapter 13

They're back in Raccoon City before she knows it. They enter as discreetly as a helicopter can, but in the flourishing city she doubts anyone will think much of it. It's nearing midnight when they reach the intended coordinates, the patch of barren forest and looming murder castle that makes Jill's muscles tense at the very sight. She hears the voice of her father in the back of her head, _"don't be the kind of woman who needs to be helped."_

"Target in sight, are you ready for deployment?" Allen asks through Jill's earpiece, shocking her back into reality.

"Ready." She returns, brutally aware of her thrumming heart and stiff muscles. "We shouldn't land the chopper. I don't want anyone else in trouble."

"Just us, right?" Billy scoffs.

He does not have access to HQ, for obvious reasons, but there's still a bitter edge to his tone.

"Shut up." She rolls her eyes, throwing the ladder down before looking to the co-pilot. "Keep in contact with Allen. The second we need a pick up-"

"Ma'am, yes, ma'am." He gives her a thumbs up as a way of pushing her out of the helicopter.

She grits her teeth as she descends from the air to stand before the hulking mansion. Her heart threatens to stall completely, but the weight of her gear keeps her grounded.

"Stay sharp." She tells Billy the second she hears his feet hit the ground beside her.

Positioning her gun just so, she takes the lead, wasting no time in approaching the grand doors before her.

"Yes ma'am." She hears Billy grumble while following close behind.

Jill still isn't certain how she feels about this guy, but part of her wonders if he's going to stab her in the back. The other part of her trusts Allen's judgement more than her own. At the very least, he wouldn't deliberately put her in harm's way. Still, she longs for the security of Chris's presence, to _know _that her partner has her back.

The building is clearly abandoned and has been for some time judging by the layers of dust on the long unattended furniture. The place reeks of age and water damage, but the scent is the last of Jill's concerns.

"We're in." She reports, eyes still sweeping the area for any sign of danger.

"Good. We're still tracking you, you know the drill. Reconnaissance and information only. Do not engage if you're able."

Jill smirks, "You say that like I'm trigger happy."

"Covering my own ass." He snorts from the other end.

"Hey, Valentine, which way?" Billy asks, motioning towards one hallway or another. Just as he finishes the movement, there's a creaking from the right and a bark from outside.

Nearly panicked, Jill turns towards the sounds, "Guess this choice is made for us."

"Yeah, love it when that happens." Billy's unnervingly close as they wander down the narrow hall.

"So, break the ice, tell me about yourself." Jill says, even with her breath on edge.

"What's there to know? You read my file."

"Yeah, and you read mine, but my favorite color is fucking blue." She snickers despite herself.

"Are we really doing this?" He asks skeptically.

"Look, if we're gonna be partners, I need to know you have my back, alright?"

"I have your back. You don't need to know my favorite color, that's dumb."

"Such a sour sport. You don't get out much, do you?"

"Prison does that to you."

"Yikes, a bit sensitive, are we?" She kneels before a looming door and works her magic, unlocking it in seconds.

"You sure you're a soldier?" Billy asks tersely.

"I have confirmed kills that the military _actually_ wanted me to have. Any other questions?" She asks, pushing the door open.

"Yeah, what the _fuck_?"

The door opens to reveal a foreboding main hall, a large painting of some man, and a glaring Umbrella symbol. Approaching the painting, Jill takes in her surroundings. The staunch air about the place leaves her unsettled, to say the least.

"I've got something for you." She comms in to HQ.

"Already?" He sounds surprised.

"Guess who's just wandered on into Umbrella Executive Center Training."

"You're shitting me."

"No, sir."

"Fucking Christ…"

"Coen."

She nods him over to grab one of the files just _laying _there. It's ominous and unsettling, but so is the fact that she doesn't find herself surprised. Not even when she looks over Billy's shoulder and spots a person… an _undead _person.

"Duck."

He complies as she raises her gun and nails the fucker right between the eyes.

"What the-" Before Billy can ask, the zombie is twitching towards him. Three bullets later, it lies still.

"Okay, I hate this."

"Allen, we've got a problem." Jill says.

"Perfect, what is it?"

"Turns out the dogs aren't the only undead around here."

"Dogs!?" Billy asks incredulously.

"_Good_… you think you can handle this, Valentine? We can send in back-up."

"Who do you think I am, chief? I've got this handled."

"_I_ do not." Billy says getting up from the ground, "What in the fuck is going on?"

"If you're sure, I trust you." Allen sighs, clearly uncertain as he ends the connection.

"Look, Coen, you read that report. Zombie dogs and now humans. Our job is to make sure this shit stays in this fucking facility. Got that?" Jill barely stands beneath his nose, but she really doesn't give a shit about their size difference. She's clearly the one in control.

"How did you even find this place? This shit's insane."

"Let's just say I'm connected even when I don't want to be." Jill takes one last look at the zombie, "You want to tell me your favorite color now?"

"Fine, it's red." Billy rolls his eyes, following after a surprisingly confident Jill.

"Well, you're in luck. I've got a funny feeling we'll be seeing a lot of it."

"Oh, happy day…"

They march on through the building, picking up files and codes to random rooms.

"Who built this place? Rube Goldberg?" Billy can't help himself as they maneuver through the facility.

It's all so strange. Why did Wesker come this way? Did he live here? She wouldn't be surprised if they stumbled upon him in a robe, sunglasses still on, reading a book. What the fuck did Umbrella have to do with anything? Did they really bring back the dead or were they in the business of creating monsters? Allen's whole mission was to expose the dirty corporation, but how dirty were they talking?

She gets an answer to one of those questions on the balcony, when out of nowhere she's knocked off the edge and nearly killed.

"Valentine!" Billy rushes over.

"Look out!" She calls nearly half a second too late.

He knocks the fucking thing back, throwing it off the roof before helping her up. "Jesus."

"Monkeys… Fucking zombie monkeys. Typical." Billy groans while pulling out his gun.

Together, they fight off the group of approaching beasts. Their matted fur and the large, red sores that are left behind in the areas in which fistfuls of fur had apparently been torn away, make Jill wrinkle her nose in disgust. It's an unreal situation, one that Jill acknowledges as such if only to preserve her sanity. She hopes to God that she can't contract some weird disease from this.

"What a Friday, huh?" She asks.

"Yeah, for real." He sighs while assessing the damages.

"Thanks, by the way."

"You're welcome." He smirks at her.

"So… why does Allen like you so much?" She asks.

"I think he likes an underdog." Billy shrugs, eyes locking onto something, "You're shitting me."

Jill glances up to see a mothering fucking bat the size of a dog swooping down to attack them.

"Oh, just what this night was missing."

"You spend your nights some kind of way that I do not understand." Billy chuckles, shooting precisely at the beast and knocking it into a tailspin mid-flight.

"It's called being way too invested in my job." She smirks back, joining in the open fire against the oversized creature. As soon as it's down, she's kneeling beside it and taking notes.

"Leeches, bats, monkeys, humans. God, somebody had some kind of fetish that I could have gone my whole ass life not knowing about."

"Get your head out of your dick and stay on target, Coen." Jill stands up, "I think we have just about everything we need up here, so let's head back down."

"Roger that." Billy takes the lead this time. "I bet there's some real fucked up shit in that basement with our names on it."

"I want you to be wrong, but I know you're right." She groans. "I don't think there's any redemption in this place."

"Really? You don't see any potential for a future summer home? Maybe a boarding school?"

"Oh yeah, let's bait fate a little and just send kids into this place to see what happens."

"What?" He chuckles. "No good?"

"You're a piece of work."

"In a good way?"

"In… a way." She smiles. "What'd you do before all this?"

"My best."

"Oh, haha." She chuckles as they head down, deeper into the facility. "Just keep your head on, okay?"

"I'm trying here."

Banter can't last forever and tonight is most definitely not Jill's night; of course, being in a hell hole (being there of her own volition, don't forget) should have clued her into that. The giant fucking centipede really drives home the point for her if it wasn't clear as glass before. After resolving that she will _never _bitch about bugs ever again, she blasts the fucker straight into the next life.

"Have I mentioned I hate this place?" Billy asks once the thing is burnt to a crisp.

"What a coincidence, me too." She says, surveying the area.

"We've got a lot in common." He smirks.

"Can't wait to tell my boyfriend about this." She chuckles, briefly reminding herself how much she misses him. And to think that he believes she's at home with a stomach bug instead of doing… this. It's similar she supposes. There _is_ a bug involved…

What will Chris do when he finds out?

"Oh, do tell me how that one goes down."

"It will probably just end with him telling me that next time there's a bug in the bathroom, it's my problem."

"Honestly, the next time I see a non-zombie animal or bug, it'll be the cutest shit I've ever seen."

"We should keep moving. This area's looking a little sparse." Jill looks for the next direction to go in.

"Does that have you on edge?" He teases briefly.

"Of course it does. I'm not totally insane." She scoffs. "I mean, first zombies, now an underground lab. I'm starting to think God either has a sense of humor or thinks he's a fucking horror author."

"I would guess the latter, all things considered." Billy huffs, taking the lead as they press further into the lab. It's cold and dark all the way down, like the sun doesn't want this place to exist and so it's been deprived of such things. The air is thick between Billy and Jill and she knows that technically she's his commanding officer in this instance, but the fear in her heart holds her back. She's only human after all.

This metal morgue is daunting and she wants to turn back, desperately wants to pretend their mission is over and get the hell out, but she's not stupid either. She knows there's more down here to uncover. They haven't even found a true motive yet, nor have they found any connection to Wesker at all.

She persists despite her hesitance and maybe that's where her true strength lies. Perseverance is a virtue isn't it?

It's a flash of white at first, then it's Billy's scream.

"Shit!" She shouts, prepared to shoot the primate, but worries about hitting her partner. Her hesitance causes a chain reaction. The whole affair hardly takes seconds to complete; he's attacked, pushed over the railing, and gone.

"Billy!" She calls, knowing it's futile but acting solely on instinct.

"Valentine, what's happening!?" Allen asks from his end.

"Billy's gone! I've lost sight of him… Damnit!" She looks down into the bleakness, a number of emotions walking up her spine, the most prominent of these being guilt.

"You've got enough intel, Valentine. If you have to get out, do it."

"You're about to tell me to use my judgement, aren't you?"

Allen sighs, "It's your call only because I can't stop you, but I think you should get out while you still can."

It's a royally stupid choice to stay, to go further into the belly of this beast alone, but intelligence and heroism rarely go hand in hand.

"Hold on, I'm getting something…" Allen says, but she's already heading down the stairs, "No fucking way."

"What is it?"

"Security cameras are still working. You didn't trip any wires, did you?"

"No, you didn't notice before?" She asks, checking her gun as she goes.

"It's like someone flipped a switch. Be careful…I've got you on my screen."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing. Can you locate Coen?"

"See if you can find records of recordings. My team will handle Coen."

She traipses her way through the halls, if they can even be called that; she feels like she's in a fucking dungeon, a very medical, Nazi dungeon. If Wesker's a fucking Nazi, she swears to God…

"Okay, you're going the right way. He looks to be alive, but we can't be sure on our end."

Relief spreads throughout her body at the sound of that. In spite of darkness and hell incarnate, she persists through the area. Something in the back of her head tells her to be afraid, but she shoves that thought away. Fear will only cause problems.

So, of course, fate tests her theory by throwing some kind of mutated _God knows what_ at her. This giant pale thing with torn skin, gnarled teeth, exposed muscles, and one claw-like mallet hand.

"I am _so_ sick of this." Jill mutters to herself, immediately blasting at the thing with everything she's got. It's a fiercer battle than she had been anticipating and, honestly, she'd anticipated a lot. Nearly every time it falls, it gets back up, twitching and bulbous as ever before.

Her body feels heavy, the weight of the night finally falling on her shoulders as she realizes that maybe she can't do this alone. But determination is a stronger demon than this creature, a Tyrant, she'd read somewhere. It eventually falls before her and it doesn't get back up. Too tired to celebrate her victory, she backs out of the room, ensuring it stays down.

"What the _hell_!?" Allen asks, exasperated from where he sat, safe and comfortable…well, comfortable might be a bit generous.

"Welcome to my night." She grumbles.

"If I wasn't impressed by you before… Shit, Valentine, you need to get out of there."

She throws herself through the next door, "Not leaving him. I don't leave people behind."

Jill can practically hear Allen's eye roll, "I'm starting to think you want to die."

"Not a chance."

"Listen, I'm having one of my people look into their systems. We've got the cameras and now we're trying to transfer any remaining files. You think you could get to the main systems for me?"

"We'll see." She says, bursting into the next room to find a finally rousing Billy. "Oh, thank god."

"Huh?" He looks up slowly. "Jill?"

"You hurt?" She asks, kneeling beside him.

"I'm okay. Head hurts, but that could be this nightmare finally getting to me." He closes his eyes and cradles his head for a second.

"You're okay. We're going to get out of this." She tells him, looking up briefly and wishing she hadn't.

"What's with that face?" He asks.

"In case you were wondering… Yes, this nightmare could get worse." Jill says, taking in the sight of bones on top of bones before her.

Billy looks in the direction she is, narrowing his gaze for a moment, "They must have been used as test subjects in Marcus's research…"

"Marcus… right…"

It's hard to keep all these evil Umbrella scientists straight from note fragments and photographs, but honestly, she doesn't exactly care. Her priority is blasting this place to kingdom come, getting the hell out, and bringing Umbrella down.

Billy shakes his head ruefully, forcing Jill to step in, "We're going to fix this."

"You believe that?" He asks. Clearly, he doesn't.

"I don't. I know it." She says, offering him a hand to help him up.

"Uh… Thanks for coming after me, by the way." He lets out a sheepish smile which she returns.

"You're welcome."

"Now let's go kill whatever big baddie is waiting for us."

"That's the spirit."


	14. Chapter 14

There have been many times in Jill's life that she felt like she should be dead, granted, a fair number of them have happened this very night. Still, facing a _reincarnated/mind-controlled _leech man monster, really should get the job done. Between gun fire and actual fucking fire, there has to be a slip up in there somewhere; somehow she's supposed to die in a blaze of glory.

But she doesn't.

Despite the creature's best efforts, it's no match for Jill and Billy's determination, a twist she didn't see coming. They take their stand, it feels like hours of shooting nonstop, arms tired with the weight of the gun in her hands, Billy is the first to fall back.

"Jill, let's go!" He shouts gesturing towards an escape.

"We have to kill this thing!" She returns.

"Valentine, stay calm, we're activating the self-destruct on our end." Allen's voice sounds like the buzzing of a bee in her ear.

"Why am I not surprised?" She murmurs with an eye roll, "Fine, let's go!"

She takes off towards the exit only turning back to send a couple of shots towards that thing.

They reach a bunker, Jill's eyes scanning for a way out, any way out. But the monster behind her is fierce and angry, its roar is louder than the blaring of sirens above them. Self-destruct sequences, it's official, her life is a poorly written film.

"Jill look out!" Billy calls as the monster lunges at her, she barely manages to avoid it. Falling on her ass and in her shock sends a bullet skyward passed the beast.

"Shit!" She snarls, rolling to one side to get back on her feet; when she finally has her bearings back she can notice the flailing shrieking monster.

"Someone's allergic to sunlight." Billy smirks, it takes nearly ever fiber of Jill's being not to roll her eyes at that one. "Jill, can you bring the roof down?"

"I'm going to pretend you're being serious." She says firing a shot before glancing around the room; eyes landing on a valve she's willing to bet will do… something. Certainly something. _Please_.

"No need to pretend."

Dashing towards it she calls back, "Cover me."

"Way ahead of you."

Part of her wonders if she's the one dying as she opens up the roof, heart lodged in her throat as she takes in the pink and baby blue sky.

"Feast on this." Billy says firing one last shot at the writhing creature. Teeth and brittle bone fly off of the hit point, collapsing into the old lab and met by an absolute column of fire. Jill has a fist full of Billy's shirt as she takes the lead, dragging him away from their impending demise. She's really going to die this time, it's got to be this time. The falling debris gave it away more than Allen's frantic screaming on the other line; it's almost poetic in a way.

They escape into the wilderness just before the building implodes, the blast still sends Jill and Billy tumbling to the ground, overwhelmed but unscathed.

"Ho-ly shit." Billy whistles watching the destruction, "Look what we fucking did."

"Umbrella's not gonna be too happy we broke their toy." Jill says, still awestruck at the way the flames kiss the clouds.

"Yeah well, I'm not too happy about the nightmares I'm gonna have for weeks. We're even." Billy stands up followed by Jill, the two of them still entranced by it all.

"Good work." Jill holds out her hand to him and he surprises her; clasping her hand a pulling her in for a hug.

"Here I was thinking that I was dead either way, you're something else." He says with a smirk.

"Told you it'd be worth it." She chuckles.

"Valentine are you there!?" Allen shouts into her earpiece.

"You bet your ass I am."

She hears his sigh of relief and allows the feeling to infiltrate her still tingling skin. Wafts of hot air slapping against her face as she turns her gaze skyward, looking for the helicopter.

"Good, stay exactly where you are. Your ride is coming."

"That's what I like to hear."

"Coen still alive?"

"As alive as he ever was." She chuckles.

"What a day." He sighs, she isn't sure she's meant to hear it but she smiles anyway.

"I think that this may just be the worst day I've had in at least a few years."

Billy practically cackles, "How shitty is your life?"

"It got a whole hell of a lot better without this garbage." She points to the crumbling facility. "The less murder castles/secret evil labs there are in the world, the better."

"Couldn't agree more." Billy says holding out his hands towards the facility as if to warm them by a campfire. "Good thing a storm is coming in huh? Otherwise the park rangers would not be too pleased."

"And they were pleased with the mutated bugs, reptiles, and mammals?"

"It's called nature." He teases as the helicopter finally appears overhead.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Don't you forget it." He holds out a hand to let her climb in first.

Just as they're flying over the forest, admiring their handiwork, Jill's eyes lock on something else, just in the distance. There's no way… Not a chance… there's no conceivable way there's _two _of these fucking things.

"You seeing what I'm seeing?" Billy asks.

"I hope it's the PTSD again." She returns.

"Yeah… me too."

They arrive back in DC before noon, barely allotted time for a fucking shower, she and Billy are escorted to a conference room.

"You are planning to feed me, right?" Jill asks Allen the second she sees him.

"Yes ma'am, thought we could get the gritty stuff done so you don't get sick." He smirks, Billy's hair is still wet as he takes up a seat beside her. There are a few suits around the table, but not many, Jill assumes these are the small group of investigators.

"You did good work." He pulls up the security footage she'd managed to secure for him, "We extracted all the files and deleted them from their original servers. We also found this very interesting."

Suddenly, the camera flips around, two faces squished together watching the footage.

"Wesker." Jill practically growls.

"And William Birkin. We've got our guys."

"How did they have access to that?"

Allen opens a file folder and pushes it towards her, "High ranked Umbrella operatives, you blew up their alma mater. We hacked into their systems to take these pictures, and have audio incriminating a few others. We also have coordinates to every _single_ Umbrella laboratory in the world. Information may be slightly outdated, but it's a lot of good leads."

"And… do you know what they saw?"

"I can't imagine they made anything out. The video quality, as you can see, is shoddy at best. The audio is even worse, we were only able to figure it out because of our connection." Allen sits down, broad smile painted on his face. "We got 'em."

"But." One of the suits speaks up, "It's not enough to go forward to the public with."

"Are you kidding me?" Billy asks.

He shakes his head, "We can make arrests, but to take down the whole company? No. We need more evidence that this was not just an isolated incident."

"What the fuck else do you want from me?" Jill asks, tense as she speaks.

"You and Coen will be assigned different facilities to take down." He nods to Allen.

"So, Jill, STARS Alpha team will be receiving instructions to investigate those mysterious murders, directly. There's another mansion in the area, Spencer Mansion." Allen explains.

"Spencer as in Oswell Spencer. Founder of Umbrella." One of the other men says it with a cocky grin.

"Coen, you'll be sent with a small team to Antarctica."

"Wow, she gets a mansion, I get the Antarctic. You sure I'm a free man?"

"Hey, it's a travel opportunity." She smiles at him.

"And you're probably going to have an easier time than she will anyway." Allen says with the shake of his head. "Besides, don't you need a job?"

"He can work for STARS once Wesker is out." Jill chuckles, "Make STARS into an exclusive Umbrella fighting machine." She says it jokingly but the room mulls over the idea thoughtfully for a moment.

"When you get back, is that what you'd want?" Allen asks Billy.

"We'll see if I make it back first." Billy looks at Jill with a soft smile, thankful even.

"Anything else you want to show me?"

"… You want to see yourself single handedly take down a tyrant?"

"Hell yeah!" Jill claps her hands laughing at his childish antics. And it's a badass clip, one she wants to steal and show to her future kids and the STARS office; not necessarily in that order.

Allen takes her and Billy to lunch, it's Billy's first meal out of prison and he enjoys it as a free man. Allen's gratitude is not lost on her, even hidden behind the wall of insults and teasing. It's like she's back in the military and they've just finished training; but for the first time in a while, she feels confident in her own skin. Nearly dying will do that to you, watching yourself take down a nightmarish monster will also do that to you.

"Don't let your ego inflate too much." Allen jests as he and Billy drop her off at the airport.

"Me? Never. You need to keep your head on straight too." She gives him a hug, "It's great working for someone who doesn't want to rape me."

He snorts, "It's great working with someone competent."

"Just the one, though." Billy laughs taking his turn to hug her.

"Try not to die in Antarctica, we can't have this ending like The Thing." She pats his back before pulling away.

"You've got it, I need to come harass you at work." He promises with a sly smile.

"Can I report that?" She asks Allen.

"I'll put it in my notes." He snickers, "Take care of yourself, get some rest, you've got a hell of a week coming."

"Correction, I have hell coming." She sighs, "I'll hear from you?"

"Course." Allen nods, "Unless you meant the man candy over here."

"In which case, I will also keep in touch." Billy laughs.

"You both are gross, and I have a boyfriend." Jill chuckles.

"Does he know he's got a long line of people ready and willing to kick his ass if he even thinks about hurting you?" Allen asks.

"Oh, he knows, mostly because I'm at the front of that line." She teases.

"Get going Valentine, at this rate you're getting home next week." Allen steps back.

"I'm serious let me know if anything changes, and Coen… be safe."

"I will. Now scram." He steps in line with Allen as she heads off towards her gate. Her body is exhausted, adrenalin and sheer will power having worn off, she's never been this spent in her entire life. She gets a few moments of rest on the plane before she's back in Raccoon, the sun low in the sky as they land. Her day is gone and it's leaving her confused.

Once she's in her apartment she's in the comfiest thing she owns, mind finally starting to process what she just fucking witnessed. That was all _real _she saw every last bit of that with her own two eyes, did all of those things.

Just as the panic starts to wash over her, the phone rings. Voice tired and heavy she answers, "Hello?"

"Jill! Oh thank god, I've called you four times today."

"Chris… I'm sorry." She rubs her temple, "I was trying to rest. Like you told me to." God he'd be livid if he knew the truth… And that she's lying to him. Sure it's not forever, but still.

"Jesus Jill, you couldn't have picked up to let me know you were alive?"

She snorts, "I wasn't sure for a while there."

"Everything okay? Are you still not feeling well?"

She hesitates, "I'm just tired."

"If I get home tomorrow and you're still sick I'm taking you to the hospital."

"Chris, I'm fine."

"It's been three days."

"I know and I miss you, so when you come home, we're not going to waste time at a hospital."

He pauses, "I miss you too."

"You'll be home soon." She says softly, hopeful to a degree, she misses him so damn much. "I'm really sorry about missing your calls, I didn't do it on purpose."

"I know."

"I love you."

"I love you." He chuckles, "I was just getting ready to walk to your apartment if you didn't answer this time."

"Oh? Maybe I shouldn't have answered." She smirks, guilt rising in her stomach. "Anything to report from the day?"

"Not really no."

"Me either… maybe you shouldn't have freaked so much, I'm boring."

"You? Never, you're just taking a much-deserved break."

Oh yeah, what a break she's had. "Not much of a break without you here."

"I wanted to cancel this trip, you wouldn't let me."

"And you're having a fantastic time with Claire, we've been over this." She sighs, "I'm going to make myself something to eat here soon. You can't be done for the day, can you?"

"No, Claire and I are going to some late-night movie."

"Sounds fun, go enjoy it."

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow." She hangs up, mostly because she isn't sure she can handle the weight of lying to him any longer. How ironic would it be if she felt so guilty she got sick?

She doesn't sleep that night, despite her body screaming at her to do so. The dark has her on edge, nerves practically tingling as every time she closes her eyes she sees a monster before her. There's a bit of bile stuck in the back of her throat even when she tries to sleep with the lights on. She feels exposed and alone, so fucking alone.

At about five thirty she gets up to watch cartoons like a little kid, blanket wrapped around her shoulders and eating cereal. It's therapeutic almost, the soft volume of the TV accompanied by the slight rain outside. The sunrise only really lightens the clouds to a soft grey and she likes the gentleness all around her.

Near noon, she hears her front door unlock on its own, acting on instinct she pulls out the gun she keeps on hand.

"Take one more step and I shoot." She says, taken aback by the familiar laugh that fills her apartment.

"Chris?" She asks, lowering the gun.

"That's my girl, ready to shoot intruders at a moment's notice." He walks in the door and shuts it behind him, luggage and all.

"Chris!" She drops the gun and runs into his arms, legs wrapping around his waist and face pressed into his neck. "Oh my god don't do that to me."

"Sorry, you're the one who gave me a key." He chuckles, adjusting his hold on her.

"I thought you weren't coming back until late tonight." She pulls back to take him in, perfect as he ever was. Chiseled features and cocky grin at the way she's latched herself onto him.

"I got bumped up." He claims weakly, "You look tired."

"I'm more excited to see you than I am tired, promise." She leans in and kisses his forehead.

"Uhuh, I think you have bags under your eye, young lady."

"Hey, don't be mean." She pouts, to which he responds by kissing her cheek.

"I'm not being mean, I'm making up for all the doting I couldn't do while I was away."

"Oh, is that right?"

"You bet your beautiful ass it is." He shifts her legs again while she places her forehead to his.

"I missed you. I wish you'd been here with me." And been around to help kill that leech monster… thing… That would have been very much appreciated.

"Well, I'm here now." He chuckles.

"Yes, you are." She kisses his lips this time, quick and sweet. "I love that you're here."

"I do too, and I love you."

"I love you too." She starts trying to put her feet on the ground, but he won't let her. "Don't you want to unpack?"

"Hmm, I was actually thinking of taking a nap."

"Were you?" She asks, eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I had an early flight, remember? Would you care to join me?"

She feels herself blushing as she agrees, Chris whisks her off to the bedroom, laying her in the mussed bed before taking off his shoes.

"Hey, you are planning to tell me about your trip, right?"

"After we get some shut eye." He claims, shutting the blinds and crawling up next to her, placing a kiss on the side of her head.

It's the first time in days that she's felt safe, calm, and even content. She falls asleep in seconds beside the one person in this whole world she knows will keep her feeling this way. Forever.


	15. Chapter 15

Having Chris back is like breathing fresh air for the first time in a lifetime and she is grateful to forget even for a second all the daunting things she has in store. Jill selfishly takes up their Sunday and Monday, never once letting on that a storm is coming. Even when Rebecca starts working that Tuesday morning, Jill keeps her mouth shut and the air in the office light.

"So, your first task is our main mode of operations: paperwork." Jill presents the younger girl a stack of files.

Rebecca eagerly takes the files.

"Thanks for helping me Jill. I know I'm not technically in your unit or even a STARS member."

"You are for the summer." Jill says semi-enthusiastically.

Chris had nearly grit his teeth to the gums seeing Wesker interact with Rebecca that morning and Jill's taking it upon herself to protect her... even though that's Edward's job, technically speaking.

Jill opens one of the drawers of Rebecca's desk to guide her through filing processes only to see school girl porn opened in the empty space. Lifting the magazine out, she chucks it at a nearby Brad.

"You're trash." She says half-heartedly.

"Come on, what kind of office would we be if we didn't prank the new guy? It's a rite of passage." Brad chuckles.

"You could be more creative at the very least, but I know it's hard for you."

"Shit," Edward chuckles, "Is that a challenge, Valentine?"

"I know that work is hard enough, so don't strain yourself." She snickers while helping Rebecca separate files into piles and Rebecca looks at Jill with a reverent sort of gaze.

"Ooo, felt the heat off that one." Forest smirks.

"You sound surprised." Jill puts her hands on her hips, trying her best to mask how humored she is.

"Jill, you're a dream girl." Richard complements, handing her another file.

"I'm a lot of people's dream girl, so get in line." She takes the file, winking at Rebecca when she notices how awestruck the younger girl is.

"Jesus, Jill, you're like, _invincible_." Edward snorts.

"I'm not like anything, I am invincible." She walks back to her own desk, catching a glimpse of Chris snickering from behind his hand. "Am I wrong?"

"No ma'am." Chris says as straight as he can.

Cocky is not something the universe seems content to allow Jill to feel and that becomes abundantly clear when Wesker waltzes back into the office.

"Jill, come see me." He says, bored as ever.

Standing slowly, she does her best to ignore the blaze in Chris's eyes as she follows Wesker into his office.

"Close the door." He says, shuffling through some of the documents on his desk.

She does as he asks, willing herself to keep her courage. "Yes, sir?"

"How is Rebecca adjusting?" He asks, still avoiding her gaze.

"She's doing well – smart and willing to learn." He nods at her words. "Was that all?"

"You tell me."

The two share a second of eye contact before she responds, "That's all on my end, sir."

"Do you want to tell me why you spoke with HR?"

"Not exactly. That's a private matter."

"Is it?" He asks and the glare behind his glasses makes her feel small.

"Yes. It is." He approaches her, taller than ever before and she's reminded of the way he looked in that photo, hunkered down and trying to discern her image as she destroyed his hard work.

"You know what you're playing at, don't you?"

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"Tell me where you were this weekend." He barks at her, reminiscent of the beast he helped to create.

"I was in my apartment, not that it's any of your business." She retaliates fiercely.

"You are my business." He says, voice low as he inches closer.

She backs up in response, "Don't you dare touch me-"

"You have far too much to lose to be threatening _me_." He reaches out his hand and grips her jaw. "If I were you, Jill, I'd be much more careful with whatever it is you're pursuing. It would be such a travesty to lose you."

She stays where she stands, caught between his hand and the wall, struck by the way she can nearly sense the fear in his voice. Maybe fear is the wrong word, unease is perhaps better, but it's palpable even when the air between them is silent.

"I know more than you think." He releases her like a bow string snapping back into place.

"I don't think you do." She dares to respond.

She can make out the faintest outline of his eyes this close up; part of her is startled that he even has eyes at all. Their fury is undeniable and the sheer, hot anger in her chest threatens to spark a fire to life.

"Infuriating, useless woman." He shakes his head before his hand is back on her neck.

His lips barely make contact with hers when she smacks him blindly; it's a better feeling than killing him. To watch the way Albert Wesker stumbles back, admonished, rejected, _angry_ – the feeling within her is practically sinister, but she revels in it.

"Bitch." He mutters.

"This meeting is over." She turns towards the door, but his grasp takes her arms captive as he pulls her back into him.

"You mistake me for the kind of man who takes no for an answer." He rasps into her ear. "But I do admire that fire in you."

She starts to squirm in his grasp, desperate for any kind of opening to bolt from the office. Instead, she feels his teeth bite down just behind her ear. In her shocked state, she stalls. Is he really fucking biting her?

"Are you a vampire or what?" She asks, ripping her head from his grasp despite the searing pain she feels in her neck as she does so.

She feels the chuckle he responds with as he squeezes her tighter, "I am much more powerful and far more real than that, Jill."

"Let go of me." She demands, nearing the end of her rope.

"Is that really what you want?"

"Let me get back to work, so help me god." She jerks once more and, this time, he releases her.

"I'll get you someday and all of this-"

"Stop. _Talking_." She snarls, one hand on the doorknob and the other formed in a fist.

He laughs at her, a loud, awkward sound that she takes as her cue to rejoin the office. Rebecca is right beside the door as Jill storms out.

"Sorry, Rebecca… what's up?"

"Oh, I just had a question about these files." She looks nervous and Jill assumes it is the radiating anger.

"Of course, what is it?" Jill strides back over to Rebecca's desk and helps her with the documents in question.

Just as the lunch hour is approaching, with Jill still stationed beside Rebecca, Wesker finally emerges from his office once more.

"Rebecca, how are we doing?" He asks, nearly shocking the whole office to attention with his uncharacteristically friendly tone.

"Everything's great." She smiles brightly, so unassuming and devastatingly youthful. "Jill has been so helpful and everyone else has too."

"I'm glad." Wesker smirks before placing a far too rough hand on the back of Jill's neck. "She's one of our best, so I expected no less."

With that, he walks out of the office and the guys burst out laughing, Jill bites back her tears, but only Rebecca seems to notice.

"Wesker's playing favorites." Joseph chuckles.

"Of course he is. Don't forget he made Jill take off her top that one time." Brad snorts, standing up.

"He what?" Rebecca nearly whispers.

"Why don't you dumb fucks shut up for a minute, huh?" Barry asks, feigning disinterest but passing a concerned glance to Jill.

"Dad got mad at us." Forest snorts. "Enrico, are you gonna say something?"

"Nope." Enrico signs something on his desk before handing it to Jill.

"You guys going to lunch?" Chris asks, rising from his desk.

"I'm in." Edward jumps up.

"Me too." Forest and a few of the other guys get up.

"Jill? Rebecca?" Chris asks.

"I-… I have some stuff to catch up on." Jill says, not confident in her ability to keep her mouth shut about Wesker if she's not in the office.

"I really want to get a handle on this… but thank you." Rebecca nods.

"You sure?" Chris asks Jill a bit softer.

"Yes, go." Jill manages a tight laugh before he's gone with everyone else.

"Um… Jill?"

"Yeah?" Jill locks eyes with a suddenly worried Rebecca.

"What were they talking about?"

With a sigh, Jill puts her hand on Rebecca's shoulder.

"Wesker is a very creepy guy, alright? I'm not going to let anything happen to you, but make sure you're _never _alone with him. Okay?"

"He made you take off your shirt?" She asks in a hushed tone.

Jill is caught between telling her that the fuck has done worse to her or placating her fears.

"Yes," she says, "And that's why you need to make sure you're on top of it. The others will have your back. Make sure someone walks you to your car, always tell a few people where you're going. And, under no circumstances, do you go into his office alone."

"But you just-"

"I know." Jill closes her eyes and sighs. "Listen, I can handle myself, but I don't want anything happening to you."

Rebecca nods nervously.

"Don't be scared either. I've got your back."

"You're the best." Rebecca abruptly stands and hugs Jill tightly.

"Alright kiddo, we've got some work to do and then we'll grab lunch."

"Got it." She says, nodding sharply. Just then, the phone at Jill's desk rings. "Oh, can I see how you take calls?"

"Sure, come on." Jill chuckles, leading her to the desk and answering the phone in one swift motion. "STARS unit, Jill Valentine speaking."

"I'm so glad you've still got a job." Allen chuckles from the other end of the line.

Jill places the phone on her chest and looks at Rebecca, "It's a personal call, give me a minute."

Rebecca nods, but stays close by.

"What are you talking about?" Jill asks after glancing at Rebecca suspiciously.

"Just know there's another investigation going on in Raccoon that I also have a hand in."

"You cheating on me?" She chuckles.

"My whole job is investigating that fucking city, so no."

"What's up then?"

"Billy is on his way back as we speak… Let's just say someone won't be happy with how that worked out, and it isn't us."

"That's what I like to hear."

"So, what if I told you tomorrow or tonight, you'd be going back into hell?"

"What do you think?"

"I think you're crazy and that's what I like about you."

"Then sign me up."

"Great, I'll send one of my guys to get you set up. Good luck."

"Goodbye." She ends the call formally because she is in the office after all.

"Was that your boyfriend?" Rebecca asks with a sheepish smile.

"God no, old friend." Jill chuckles.

"Do you have a boyfriend?" Rebecca sounds like the teenager she is and Jill loves that about her.

"I do." She chuckles.

"Is it Chris?" Rebecca asks lightning fast.

"What the fuck?"

"I knew it! He's so cute and he's _very _attentive."

"Stop it." Jill rolls her eyes.

"You're blushing." She singsongs.

"Cut it out, we have work to do." Jill starts showing her some of the other facets of the office while they're alone.

"How long have you been dating?"

"A-… couple of months."

"Yeah?" She prods. "Does that make it serious?"

"I think serious means different things to us, but sure." Jill's pretty sure this is what having a younger sibling feels like. She's willing to say it isn't as bad as she'd imagined it'd be.

"Well, I'm glad. Maybe he can beat up Wesker for you next time he asks you to take off your shirt."

"He better, that's what boyfriends are for, aren't they?"

"Exactly! What's the point of having one if he won't beat something up for you?" Rebecca laughs.

The two of them man the office while the boys are off eating. It's likely the most productive the STARS office has ever been, a fact the two of them bring up before taking their own lunch.

By the end of the day, Jill's given the younger girl her personal phone number before walking her out, Chris following dutifully behind.

"I can't believe I get to work here." Rebecca says as they reach her car.

"We can't either." Jill tells her honestly.

"Thank you, thank you so much, Jill. I'll make you proud. I promise!" Rebecca leans in for a hug and Jill chuckles as she pats her back.

"I know you will. See you tomorrow."

"Bye… Bye Chris!" She waves enthusiastically, getting into her car.

"Some kid, huh?" Jill chuckles, heading towards her own car.

"Yeah, a little puppy, that one." Chris agrees. "Are you-"

"I'll see you at my place?" She cuts him off, unexpectedly nervous at the very thought of what happened in Wesker's office.

"Uh… yeah, of course."

"Good." She nods while climbing into her car, fingers drumming against the steering wheel as he hesitates to leave.

Once she's actually at her apartment, she tries to calm herself back down. Between Wesker and _knowing _that she's going to have to go back into another fucking murder castle, she feels like a mess. Not to mention Chris can only know about one of those things…

"Jill, what's going on?" Chris asks, walking into her apartment unannounced.

"I uh… What are you-"

"Don't start with me, tell me what Wesker did." He's got his hand firmly on the doorframe to the kitchen. For a split second, he looks so much like her father it scares the hell out of her.

"I'm fine-"

"I don't really care."

She rolls her eyes, hesitates for a moment, and then lifts up her hair to show him the dark bruise just behind her ear.

"What the _fuck_." Chris's hand replaces her own, holding back her hair as he observes the nearly broken skin. "Okay, I'm serious this time, he is a dead man."

"Chris stop." Jill takes his hands.

"No, _no_. Jill, have you seen what he's done to you-"

"You sound just like my dad, so stop it!" She shouts at him.

"What are you talking about?" Chris asks incredulously.

"You-… You sound like my dad… And I can't deal with that okay?"

"Jill-"

"Just, sit down… please?" He pauses, taking a second to nod his approval before sitting at the table.

"I-… I really should have told you this story sooner." She shakes her head and paces once around the kitchen before sitting in front of him. "You can't tell anyone about this, alright?"

"What's going on?"

She swallows thickly, "I never told you how my mom passed away, and… I really should have. I mean, you told me about your parents and you actually _liked _them, so it's only fair."

"You don't have to tell me anything." He reaches across the table and grabs her hand. "I told you that because I wanted to."

"I want to, I do." She claims, the memory of him explaining his mother's cancer and his father's subsequent suicide runs through her mind, how vulnerable he'd been and how easily he fell apart before her. She isn't certain that's what's about to happen, but if she doesn't speak with purpose, she may end up telling him something much more dangerous.

"I-… Where do I even start? Fuck." She shakes her head. "I loved my dad, like he was my rock and my number one fan kind of deal. Like he'd come home from twelve-hour work days and still come sit in my room and hang out with me for hours…

"He would have done anything for me. A couple of times, he even fought my mom for me. My mom and I had a pretty rocky relationship, which is my nice way of saying she was a bitch. God… she was so hard on me and I pushed back from time to time, so I guess we weren't dysfunctional, just on our guard around each other."

She looks at Chris. He still seems confused as to why she's telling him this, but he nods for her to continue.

"I'm not sure my parents ever loved each other. They weren't affectionate or even really happy together, but they didn't _hate _each other, or maybe that's just some kind of memory I made up because the truth is too hard to swallow.

"Either way… When I was seventeen – _god_ I remember it so clearly – I heard them screaming at each other, so I went downstairs to make sure everything was okay." She closes her eyes, wonders if she should really be telling him this. It's too late to back out now, but there's so much to say in so few words.

Scooting a fraction of an inch closer she breathes out, "I watched my dad stab my mom fifteen times."

His face drops all of his composure into a blank slack-jawed stare. It takes a moment for him to come back to her. He's so far away in that instant, but he manages to look up at her, shaking his head ever so slightly.

"Oh, Jill." He sighs softly.

She lets out a breath like a laugh, "And he turns to me with this… incredibly sane, composed look, like it's just another day. Like he didn't have blood dripping off of his fingers, as he says to me, 'Jill… some women are bitches that need to be put down.' And I… I…"

Chris inches closer, still shocked and amazed by her words, "Jill-"

"I remember looking this man dead in the eye and still seeing my father and not knowing how that was possible. I knew it was stupid to talk back to the man with a bloody knife in his hand… but I couldn't help myself… And I told him, 'some women may be bitches but _all_ men are monsters.'

"I remember he nodded and laughed, like actually laughed and said, 'I knew I raised you right for this world.' He walked into the kitchen to call the police after that and I went to my mom… And she was somehow still conscious, she didn't have any last words. I held her hand and she just kind of… faded I guess."

"I am… I'm so sorry."

She shakes her head, "I'm not telling you this so that you can feel sorry for me."

"I-"

"Please don't be a monster, Chris." It's the most sincere she's been in her whole life as she looks into his eyes. Maybe this is vulnerability, feeling so raw and empty that there is nothing that could stitch her back up. "I'm begging you."

He gets off his seat and kneels before her, "I promise you, I would never even entertain the idea of hurting you."

"Not just me Chris." She says, placing her hand on one side of his face, "Every time you talk about killing Wesker… it makes me think…"

"I'm sorry." He shakes his head as she slides down to the floor.

"I love you so much it scares the hell out of me." She admits as he pulls her in tight to his chest.

"I won't be like him… like either of them." He cradles her head in his hand before kissing her.

"Thank you." She breathes, kissing him back fiercely. It's inappropriate at best for them to start undressing on her kitchen floor (after admitting that her father is a murderer no less), but neither of them can manage to care enough to stop.

Until, of course, their work phones go off, startling them into a stupor. They've never been called in after hours before, but the second she checks her phone, she immediately understands. Time to bring down Umbrella then.

"I guess we'll finish this later." She says, pulling herself up off the ground.

"Yeah, I guess so."


	16. Chapter 16

The RPD is ominous as hell at night despite being filled with officers taking double shifts to keep up with the murders and missing persons reports. She hardly pays them any mind as she and Chris go their separate ways to suit up, a smile stretching across her face as she locks eyes with none other than Billy Coen.

"Look what the cat dragged in." She teases.

"Funny." He smirks.

"Nice haircut." She says, ruffling said hair as he approaches with a hug. At least he doesn't look like a prisoner anymore. "Don't tell me you're the one with my gear."

"Nah, that's Alice. Just stopped by to say hello."

"Well, I'm flattered, but I have some zombies to kill."

"Just so you know, Antarctica is totally not worth it." He laughs. "The penguins are also going to be supremely pissed off because I blew up some ice."

"Perfect." She rolls her eyes. "Guess I'll see you later then?"

"Good luck, you'll be fine."

"Thanks, I know." She winks before walking past him and into the locker room. Sure enough, she's set up for her mission, only this time bearing STARS symbols and a confidence that is deadly.

Billy is still outside the locker room, explaining that she just needs to destroy the structure. Allen and his team only need a very little bit of intel from the Spencer Mansion. It's really a golden in-and-out situation, but, somehow, she doubts it will go that smoothly.

The helicopter outside already holds the rest of Alpha team and she's grateful to have Chris's presence this time. What a relationship tester this will be, surviving a murderous menagerie together; take that, Beauty and the Beast.

The team descends into the forest, tense and ready for a fight. Jill had almost been able to forget that those dogs, Cerberus, could actually kill people. She and Billy had avoided them so easily that the fear of them was nearly gone from her system, but when she sees them kill Joseph, everything changes.

Shooting blindly until she's out of bullets, Jill grimaces when the pack turns on her. Stumbling back until she's on her ass in shock, a bullet flies just overhead, shooting the closest dog. Chris's arm is around her waist, hauling her to her feet and hurrying her away from the scene.

He pushes her forward as they run blindly back towards their group and the buzzing of the helicopter grows fainter.

"Where the fuck is Brad going!?" Chris shouts as they hurry away. Jill glances behind her in just enough time to see Chris nearly succumb to the beasts as well. Another bullet zips through the air, this one from Wesker.

"Chris, this way." Their leader says, cool and collected despite the fact that Joseph is fucking dead.

She hears gunfire and shouting, but can't distinguish what's happening as she bolts for the mansion. She's supposed to be better prepared for this, so why isn't she? She's seen and fought all of this and more _last week, _yet she can't stomach her fear.

"Jill, we just got something that you might be interested in." Allen says, interrupting her near panic attack. "I guess Wesker is threatening Barry. We've sent a few people to his house to ensure his family's safety. Let him know they're fine."

Jill hardly registers this as she and the remaining STARS members flood into the mansion.

"Jesus H. Christ. What was that?" Barry asks between breaths.

"Where's Chris?" Jill asks, suddenly realizing the lack of his presence. "He's still out there?"

She starts walking towards the door in a panic.

"You don't want to go out there." Wesker advises.

From the other room, there's a loud knocking sound that catches their attention.

"Maybe we should check that out?" Barry offers weakly.

"Barry, Jill, stay together. I'll go look for Chris." Wesker gives the command without hesitation and Jill has to wonder if this was all a part of his plan.

"Good idea," Barry agrees, "Let's go check out that sound."

The second they're out of earshot from Wesker, Jill grabs Barry's hand and urges, "You need to listen to me."

"Jill? What's going on?"

"Your family is safe. Wesker is bluffing."

"How-… how do you know about that?" Barry asks, baffled.

"I know about a lot more, okay? I just need you to trust me and I'll get us out of this. Hopefully we find Chris before it's too late." She shakes her head. "God… _God_."

"I don't think we'll be getting any help from him by the looks of this place." Barry groans as they move into the next room.

"Oh, just a heads up… there are zombies in here."

"Excuse me, what?" Barry asks, though the moment he does, they enter a room with a drooling half dead creature whose eyes practically light up at the sight of them.

Jill kills it in one shot, turning to look at Barry, who stands helpless and shell-shocked. "Zombies."

"What the _fuck_?" Barry breathes out in awe.

"Don't worry. If you burn them, they die for good." She smirks. "And it's, uh… well, you get used to it."

"I'm going to need an explanation as to how you know this." Barry says firmly.

"Uh… well, that's a long story that we don't exactly have time for right now. So, uh… rain check until we get out of here alive?"

"You're not working with Umbrella, are you?" Barry narrows his gaze at her.

"Oh, good god, no." She chuckles. "Try FBI, and we're bringing Umbrella down."

He nods, skeptical but content with her answer for now. "I don't want Wesker getting suspicious."

"Do what you have to and I'll do what I have to. Just stay sharp and don't do anything stupid."

"Roger that."

The two part ways and Jill reasserts her self-esteem, gradually regaining the confidence of the BOW slaying badass she is. There's too much at stake now. She has to find Chris, get the intel, and make sure Barry doesn't kill anyone (who's still alive) in the process.

It's startling when she realizes how easy it all becomes the moment that she remembers herself. Joseph's death is still playing in the back of her mind, but it only makes her more determined. Wesker's little project isn't going to kill anyone else; not tonight or ever again.

She makes it down into the lab so easily and quickly that even Allen is impressed.

"Didn't think you could surprise me anymore, Valentine. Guess I was wrong."

"I told you not to place any bets." She chuckles. "Unless it has to do with me being amazing."

"Humble as ever."

"What the FUCK are you doing!?"

Jill stalls as the voice echoes down the hall, muttering despite herself, "_Chris_."

She runs towards the sound and sees him in handcuffs, arm bleeding and Wesker pressing him up against the wall.

"You are ruining my plans as fucking _usual_." Wesker says, still calm despite the amount of force he must be using to keep Chris still and groaning in pain.

"What is your problem!?" Chris strains to ask.

"I need you dead. You know too much and our sweet Jill has too much of a fondness for you."

"Leave her out of this!"

"I can't. Whether she likes it or not, she is going to be by my side when this world is mine."

"You're insane!" Chris writhes in his grasp and lets out a strangled cry when Wesker smashes him back against the wall.

"And you're a dead man. What a pair that makes us. I do wish you could have been spared, like Barry, but you're too much of a loose cannon for me to gamble on."

Barely able to register that she's raising her gun to begin with, Jill only sees the shoulder she's aiming at before she fires. Once. Twice. Four bullets because she just can't stop herself until Wesker is lying on the ground.

Chris turns around and gives Wesker a swift kick to the head while he's down and Jill is finally able to regain enough composure to approach him.

"Chris! Are you alright?" She asks.

"I'm fine, thanks for the help." He gestures to Wesker with his head.

"What happened?" She asks, observing his still bleeding arm.

"It's nothing. This fuck thought it'd be funny to throw me down the stairs."

"Hold on a sec." She pulls out her lockpicking tools, to which Chris raises a brow.

"You know he's got the key on him, right?"

"You really think I want to touch _that_?" She asks.

"Noted." He agrees.

She notices how ruffled his hair is and that he looks like he's taken a school yard beating. Her heart aches at the sight.

The second his arms are free, he holds onto her as tightly as he can manage as he whispers, "Thank god you're safe."

"You too… When you weren't in the mansion… I… I thought you might-"

"I thought the same thing about you when I realized you weren't with me, but we're here now, together. That's all that matters." He leans forward and kisses her briefly.

"Let me patch up that arm." She says while breaking apart from him.

"It's fine." He claims.

"It's still bleeding. Just let me do it." She already has her med kit out.

"Yes ma'am." He grumbles, holding out the wound to her. It is slight, but she's still upset that he's hurt at all. Once they've determined he's sufficiently cleaned up, they turn towards their asshole of a boss.

"Still breathing, unfortunately." Chris scoffs. "What do we do?"

"Valentine, there's a cell just beneath you guys. He was planning to put Chris in it. Hold him up in there."

"Roger." She says without thinking.

"I didn't suggest anything." Chris looks up at her suspiciously.

"Honey, I have a lot of explaining to do and I recognize that-"

"Did you just call me honey?" If there's one thing that Jill and Chris don't do, it's call each other pet names. It just isn't like them.

"Sorry, Freudian slip." She claims, taking his hands. "I could give you the brief version that will confuse you more, or you can wait until we're out of here to get the full story."

"How about both?" Chris asks as if that's the obvious answer.

"Fine. I'm working with the FBI to take Umbrella and Wesker down. I've been communicating with them all night and, if we want to get out of this alive, you'll do what I say."

He looks at her like he doesn't believe her, but nods anyway, "Alright, guess it's your call."

"Great, help me with him."

They carry Wesker down to the basement and into the room he'd been planning to lock Chris in. Jill notices at some point that his ever-present sunglasses fell off, and for one second, he looks so human that she can't stomach what she knows she's about to do.

"We have to go find Barry." Chris says.

"Barry is fine." She says, distracted by the sight of Wesker. She can see her four distinct bullet holes marking his shirt. His blood is a deep red and she isn't sure why she's surprised.

"Jill?"

"Why do I feel so guilty?" She asks him.

"Because you're a good person." He tells her, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "Much better than he'll ever be."

"But-"

"We can talk about this later. What are we supposed to be doing right now?" He takes her shoulders and refocuses her.

"Allen, can you get Brad to the rendezvous point?" She asks.

"Way ahead of you. Go get that information so we can set this place on fire."

Jill turns towards Chris, "Let's blast this fucking place to hell."

"That's my girl." He smiles, offering for her to lead the way.

Locking the cell and the basement as a whole before they go, Chris and Jill meet up with Barry in the main control room.

"Chris! You're alive!" Barry reaches out and hugs him.

"Yeah, thanks to Jill." He says.

"Someone's playing their hero role very well."

"I'm not playing at anything." She says, connecting her device to the computer for Allen's team to infiltrate through.

In seconds, the files are sent off to the FBI and are destroyed from Umbrella's databases. Then the count-down begins and they run like hell to the roof of the mansion where Brad is thankfully waiting to pick them up.

And just like that, it's all over. The mansion is in flames and Wesker lies with it. What a night…

She nearly collapses with exhaustion in the helicopter, head falling to Chris's shoulder as they fly off towards the city. He pulls her in, kisses the top of her head, and that's when she spots the bandage on his arm.

She convinces him and Barry to get checked out at the hospital while she and Brad go back to the RPD. It's just after one a.m. and even more empty than before, but Billy is there with Alice, both of whom look proud as hell.

"Good job, Jill, you kicked ass." Billy smirks.

"Don't tell me you two were sat here playing solitaire for the past five hours." She glances at the card game.

"Excuse you, it was go-fish. Much more sophisticated." He claims.

"Uhuh." She nods, gesturing for Alice to help her out of her gear. Jill's never showered at the RPD before, but she _has_ to. There's no way she can manage to wait until she gets home.

She doesn't even go home. She takes her car and waits at the hospital for Barry and Chris to be released. She and Chris weren't exactly thinking straight when they'd decided to drive to the RPD together, but she's grateful for it now.

Her slightly concussed, but generally okay teammates are released at a semi reasonable time, if ten 'til three can be considered reasonable. Chris holds her hand as she drives them back to her apartment, silent and thankful that at least they made it out alive. Jill feels regret in her stomach as she thinks about Joseph… if she'd just been able to warn him…

She takes Chris into her apartment, heavily trudging to her bedroom and collapsing on the bed. He's next to her in moments, silent, waiting for an explanation.

And she's so sorry as she tells him about the past week of her life. Nearly every other sentence out of her mouth is some sort of apology. He takes it well, all things considered, doesn't ask questions or interrupt even once.

When all is said and done, he uses one hand to guide her gaze to his. "Don't ever lie to me again."

"All my cards are on the table." She says.

"You know what I mean. What if you had died?"

"I know."

"I was losing my mind thinking you were so sick you couldn't answer the phone, but you were _actually _in trouble."

She shakes her head. "I did fine on my own."

"But you could have died," he reiterates firmly, "And I wouldn't have known why."

"I wanted to tell you. You have to know that I wanted you as my partner-"

"Then _why _wasn't I?" He demands harshly.

"I couldn't drag you into it-"

"Yes, you could have."

She shakes her head, devastated by the betrayal in his eyes. "I know I could have."

"I will always be here for you, okay? No matter how many zombies I have to kill or undercover operations I have to get through… Did you doubt me?" His voice cracks.

"It had nothing to do with that. I wanted to protect you." She says earnestly.

"I don't need you to keep me safe, Jill."

"But I just couldn't help myself." She says, placing her hand on his cheek, "I know you don't need saving, but I want to."

"Well, I guess today I needed saving." He admits sheepishly.

"See." She chuckles heavily before shaking her head. "I don't expect you to forgive me, but you have to know that I wanted to tell you more than anything."

He nods slowly, leaning forward to kiss the tip of her nose. "I never want to feel the way I did tonight… I can't lose you. You're the only person who makes all this worthwhile."

She revels in his grasp, curling up right into the warmth of his chest and playing with the fabric of his shirt. Fingers dancing patterns across the expanse of his chest and down to his stomach, she speaks without thinking about the words coming out of her mouth.

"Coming to Raccoon was a mistake, but I'd make it over and over again just to have the chance to meet you."

He pulls her just a fraction of an inch closer, "You think it was a mistake? I think it was a miracle."

She snorts bitterly, "You think that nightmare was a miracle?"

"No, I think coming here was. It led me to you."

"Am I the love of your life yet?"

He chuckles, "You always were."

She looks up at him, basking in the look of pure adoration he gives her before reaching up to kiss him. If there's anything that is right in the kind of world where zombies and evil corporations creating them can exist, it's knowing that the love of her life is safe in her arms.

It's enough to keep her alive, no matter what comes next.


	17. Chapter 17

It's the heaviest Jill's slept in her whole life, and she really only wakes up because of Chris's jerking to toss a pillow at her alarm clock. Still tied up in his arms the way they'd fallen asleep, Jill manages to tune into the world after a few seconds of blurry rousing. Prying herself loose of his sleep-heavy limbs she shuts off the alarm.

He sighs with relief at the silence and she looks at him with a laugh.

"Hey, time to get up." She says, voice dry and laced with tenderness.

"Mhp." He smushes his face closer to the pillow, one hand reaching to her waist as if to pull her back down.

"Come on, we have to go." She fondly runs her fingers across his hairline and down to the nape of his neck.

"No." He squeezes his eyes tighter to drive the point home.

"Please?" She asks leaning down to give him a kiss on the cheek.

"Let's go back to sleep instead." He suggests.

"We need to go to work, and you know it."

He finally cracks an eyelid at her to give her as much of a glare as he can muster, "No we don't."

"They don't know about last night… And Joseph…" She sighs, making a move to leave the bed, but he grasps at her wrist.

"Let Barry handle it, come back to bed."

"I'm not going to do that." She shakes her head stifling a yawn so that he can't hold it against her.

Just as she twists herself to get out of bed, the phone rings violently on her table. She hesitates, suddenly stressed by all the possibilities of who could be calling.

"You gonna answer that?"

"You gonna throw another pillow at it if I don't?" She teases reaching over to answer. "Hello?"

"Jill, it's Enrico."

"Hey, I'm just getting ready."

"Why?"

"What do you mean why?" Jill returns the question, Chris snorts loudly as he rubs his eyes.

"Are you crazy? You had a long enough shift last night, stay home."

"Uh… Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure, I just wanted to know where you put those files for the Mendoza case."

"They… should be in Wesker's office." Chris gives her a knowing smirk as she speaks.

"Thanks, get some rest. I'll see you tomorrow." He hangs up without letting her speak.

"We have a pretty cool job." Chris says opening his arms to her.

"I guess so." She shakes her head.

Climbing back into bed she buries her face into his chest, still tired eyes closing to enjoy the feeling of his laughter.

"You really thought we were going to have to go in."

"Look, we saw some shit, did some shit-"

"Stayed out until 3 a.m. for our job." He runs his fingers under the hem of her nightshirt. "We deserve a break."

"Ugh, do I ever." She mumbles into his shirt. Absorbing the moment as best she can, her skin prickles with delight. The feather light circles he draws on her spin sinking into her soul.

"Not me." He notes with a chuckle.

"You got to see Claire." She claims weakly already falling back to sleep.

"This is better." He says before she fades away.

She wakes up an hour or so later, Chris having shifted to his back at some point. Sunlight lazily filtering in through the cracks of the blinds, landing gently over his chest. She shifts slowly, inching up his body until her head is next to his; hand in his hair she leaves a handful of soft kisses along the side of his face until a smile cracks through the plane of his dreams.

"I love you." She says.

He chuckles, "What a way to wake up."

"Play your cards right and it could be forever." She says softly.

He turns over and pulls her in for a kiss, it's a lingering type of kiss, where their bodies never quite leave the other. From fingers and lips to legs intertwined beneath the blanket and hip bones grazing the other; no part of them wants to be without love.

Eventually they get up, pulling themselves into the kitchen for bowls of cereal. They sit down on the couch and flip on the TV for background noise, the weather will suffice.

"So, is Allen paying you extra for all the heavy lifting you've been doing?"

"I don't know, he might just go with a 'saving humanity is enough payment' copout."

"Ugh, just shell out more time off."

"He's not my boss."

"Of course, he is. Basically. FBI definitely outranks whatever the hell STARS falls under."

"Well, that could change soon." Jill snorts, "What if they shut us down?"

"Not a chance, we're heroes." Chris says between bites, "Well, at least you are."

"Shut up, you're a hero too."

"Not like you." He scarfs down the rest of his breakfast in a hurry.

"I heard from a little bird that all that time training at the range is paying off." She assures him.

"But you _saved _people, lots of people. Including me and yourself. That's badass right there."

"Of course, it was, who do you think I am?"

He laughs, "You really are my dream girl."

"Even with the lying?"

"Nobody's perfect." He shrugs nonchalantly as she pulls at his hand.

"Do you think… Do you think it'll get better from here on out?"

"Not sure, you kind of blew the lid off pandora's box." He sighs, barely catching the grief in her gaze.

"Yeah…" She sighs, placing her empty bowl on the table.

"Hey." He moves a strand of hair aside to guide her gaze towards his. "It'll be okay."

"I… I'm scared." She admits.

"Are you kidding? You made umbrella look like idiots with how easily you took them down. You faced goddamn zombies and barely bat an eyelash." He's laughing but sincere.

"And I'd rather not do it again, thanks." She turns back towards the TV, looks like it'll be a rainy week.

"If we have to, we'll do it together." He assures her.

"How about we just never do it again?" She asks, knowing it's unrealistic.

"How about we make a world where this shit doesn't exist?" He returns the question.

"I like that…" She nods.

"I'm not going anywhere without you." He says, looking uncertain for a moment afterwards. Just as he's about to speak she looks back at the TV.

"Oh my god." She says, quickly turning up the volume.

"Breaking News, Raccoon City Chief of Police Brian Irons has been arrested by the FBI early this morning." The news anchor says stoically, a video of Chief Irons being escorted away in cuffs plays behind her. "According to reports, he's being investigated for the alleged kidnapping, rape, and murder of up to twelve victims. The FBI has been reportedly investigating him for the past six months and have indited several high-ranking Umbrella Corporation officials involved in a coverup scandal; this including several head researchers, board members, and staff. No names have come out due to company privacy.

"In addition to charges of conspiracy, the company is also facing undisclosed charges involving business and research practices. We will continue to update this story as it develops."

"Holy hell." Chris sighs.

"I always knew Chief Irons was rotten." Jill shakes her head, "I mean, I didn't think he was a murderer, but Christ he was weird."

"Do we work with anyone normal?" Chris pinches the bridge of his nose.

"Kenneth seems pretty alright." Jill gives him a sideways glance. Still intently watching the news as they play footage of the arrest.

"That's what he wants you to think." He says, a knock at the door interrupting their banter.

Cautiously, Jill answers the door, "Well look who it is."

Jill chuckles at Allen's cocky smirk.

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Happy isn't the word I'm looking for." She folds her arms.

"I'm crushed." He puts a hand over his chest, "Can I come in?"

"Uh, yeah." She steps to the side, watching Chris's quizzical look morph into realization as he spots Allen's hand.

"Who's this?" Allen asks.

"Chris, my partner and _partner_." She smirks.

"Sir." Chris stands up, "I, uh…"

"You're on my list." Allen says humorlessly.

"Don't be a dick." Jill shoves him playfully. "Coffee?"

"Please."

Jill leads him into the kitchen and starts to brew a pot. Chris hangs back in the doorway.

"So, what makes you think you can date her?" Allen asks bluntly.

"I, don't?" Chris asks back.

"Allen, I'm a big girl who makes her own decisions." Jill says, not turning away from her task.

"I'm still going to call you out for the stupid ones." He responds. "I don't expect you to do anything stupid, but if you do, I'll make you disappear."

"Noted." Chris says, walking back into the living room to clean up and clear his head.

"I can kick you out of this apartment." Jill laughs at Allen as the coffee starts brewing.

"You can but you won't." He chuckles.

Rolling her eyes she pulls out a few mugs, "Chris, do you want coffee?"

"Sure." He mutters, keeping his distance as he does the dishes.

"I think you made him nervous." Jill chuckles.

Handing Chris a mug and rubbing his back encouragingly, she kisses the side of his head. She then walks to the table with her own mug and Allen's.

He pulls out a few file folders, "These are yours for review."

"More missions already?" She asks.

"Recruits." He says, "I've picked a few of the RPD's newest recruits with the most potential. But since you're Alpha team's new leader you get to pick your squad."

"I'm _what_?" She stalls looking at him strangely.

"Enrico and I spoke this morning. He agreed to take up Wesker's administration duties. And _you_ will take over as Alpha team leader."

"I don't know what to say."

"Say yes." Chris says from the sink, "You deserve it."

She mulls it over for a second, "So STARS is still in operation then?"

Allen nods, "For now, you'll remain headquartered here in Raccoon City; the organization is being absorbed by the FBI but you won't notice any direct changes just yet. Expansion and implementation to other cities will probably take a while, but in time STARS will becomes something Umbrella could have never envisioned."

Jill nods with a smile. "We fucking did it, huh?"

"This fight is far from over, but we got a good start here." He returns the smile, "Thanks to you of course."

"I couldn't have done it alone." She says.

"You probably could have, but I'm glad we didn't take that risk." He smirks.

"Any other Earth-shattering news?" Jill asks.

"I think you've had enough of that for the day."

"I've had enough for a lifetime, doesn't mean there isn't more."

Allen rolls his eyes, "God woman, take what I'm giving you here."

"Fine." She chuckles, "Where are you headed?"

"First, the penitentiary, I have a few more arrests to make and an investigation to lead. Then It's back to the office, prisoners require so much fucking paperwork it's ridiculous." He chuckles, finishing his coffee quickly.

"I'm here but try not to need me." She laughs.

"Yes ma'am, I wouldn't imagine making you do shit for me on your day off. I don't have a death wish." He stands up from the table.

"Bullshit." She rolls her eyes, standing to hug him. "Everything will work out."

"I hope so." He says, following behind as she leads him out.

"Me too."

"And I mean it Chris, take care of her. God knows she won't do it herself." Allen says over her shoulder.

"Hey!" She shoves him lightly.

"Can I get a, yes sir?" Allen directs sternly at Chris.

"Yes, sir." Chris responds nervously.

"Good." He nods, "I'll be in touch."

"Tell your wife I said hello." She calls after him, shutting the door as soon as he's gone. "Christ."

"So, do I call you, boss, now?" Chris asks with a teasing grin.

"You're impossible." She shakes her head.

He shocks her by engulfing her in his arms, "I'm so proud of you."

She returns the gesture, clinging to his neck with a genuine smile. "I guess I am too."

"You guess? Miss. Captain, I think you need to lighten up."

"Hmm, how should I?" She teases him with a kiss. "Aren't you glad I reported this to HR?"

"Absolutely." He laughs, "And dating your boss is _very_ attractive."

"Kinky?" She snorts.

"If that's what you want."

Another kiss later, she smirks at him, a low growl in her throat, "It is."


	18. Chapter 18

Jill isn't surprised to learn that practically over night Raccoon City has been turned upside down. Between arrests, allegations, and even suicides from higher ups afraid of being incriminated, the world is basically on fire. All of that is miniscule compared to the chaos inside of the RPD, the STARS unit is its own little spot of anarchy. The cat is officially out of the bag, images and video of the horror show available to every member of the team.

In the middle of it all, a lull in the madness of paperwork, they all stall as Forest grumbles.

"World War Three here we fucking come."

"Be a little optimistic." Edward attempts to tease.

"He's right, this shit… it's fucked up." Richard sighs throwing the file he'd been holding down on his desk.

"Hey, it's not all bad." Jill tries to smile, "Could be worse, the war could be on our front door step."

"How are you not a nervous wreck?" Kenneth asks, "I'd be straight pissing myself _still_ if I were you."

She shakes her head, "Time and one fierce stubborn gene."

"Yeah, if we keep shitting our pants, Umbrella wins." Chris says.

"Joseph is dead!" Rebecca says frantically, "Like actually dead… like… God."

Richard walks to her desk and puts a reassuring hand on her shoulder.

"We're still shocked too." He assures her.

"How are you okay after seeing that?" Rebecca asks, eyes directly on Jill.

"Because World War Three isn't happening. Not on my watch at least." She says, "I'm not about to fight another war."

"Then what do you call two nights ago?" Edward asks.

"A battle. Battles aren't wars." She says confidently.

"You know… Enrico told us we could leave, no questions asked." Forest says, "Because this is most definitely not in our contracts, he said he wouldn't blame us either."

"Are you quitting on us?" Chris asks harshly, Jill reaches over her desk to smack his shoulder.

"I don't know…" Forest shakes his head, "I don't know if this is something I can handle."

"Me either." Richard admits.

"It's your choice." Jill says, "But whatever you choose, we're behind you."

There's half a second of silence before Enrico comes out of Wesker's old office. "Hey, Jill. A minute?"

Jill wordlessly follows after him, bringing with her the folders of her two recruits. One Billy Coen and Leon Kennedy, the kid has no experience but top marks in his training. Hopefully STARS doesn't lose too many members, if the guys on the inside can't face this shit how are they supposed to recruit?

"What's up?" She asks.

"I found this… Did you know he had these?" Enrico presents her a file folder full of photos of herself.

"What the actual _fuck_?" She gasps, ripping the file from Enrico's hand.

"You didn't know then." He shakes his head, "Fuckin stalker ass, sex offending bastard."

"This was just here?" She asks incredulously.

"Yeah… Along with… others."

"What do you mean, others?" She asks.

"He uh… had some photos of Chambers too." He says it like the words are bile, burning and disgusting enough to prompt his shivering.

"Fuck. Wesker." She groans.

"I didn't tell her, but I figured you might have known… I don't know why."

She shakes her head, "Here are my picks for new recruits."

"I'll look them over." Enrico takes them, "And I'll dispose of these."

"Light them on fire, please." She says.

"Noted."

"I need a minute."

"Take your time." Enrico allows her to leave.

She walks out of the STARS office and the RPD altogether, taking a seat on one of the benches in front of the building she stares up at the stormy sky. God, the world really fucking exploded…

"Hey… You busy?" It's Marvin and she nearly says yes.

"I'm pretending I don't exist, but I guess I can make an exception." She scoots over to let him and Kevin sit beside her.

"So, you know Allen too?" He asks. She isn't surprised by the question, part of her thinks she should; but it's going to take a lot to surprise her now.

"Yeah… This whole mission was his brain child." She says, "How do you know him?"

"We were investigating all those kidnappings." Marvin says, voice soft and empty.

"Turns out Irons has a thing for blondes; a kidnapping, raping, killing fetish." Kevin says bitterly.

"And he was getting paid off by Umbrella to keep quiet about some underground shit they're doing. Guess the favor went both ways. Scum bags. All of them." Marvin shakes his head.

She puts her head in her hands, "What the fuck kind of world is this?"

Marvin laughs, "I don't know, and I don't know why I'm surprised you were in on this shit too."

Jill chuckles, "So, Irons wasn't turning people into zombies, right?"

"That would be William Birkin and his wife, who are currently in custody." Kevin says.

"Is this whole damn town in on this?" Jill asks.

Marvin shrugs, "This is what happens when big corporations build cities for themselves; a lot of dirt to burry all of those sins."

"It's still so unreal." Jill shakes her head.

"I know." Kevin sighs, Marvin slaps a hand on his shoulder and the two have a moment of mutual understanding.

"Did you guys have some kind of buddy-cop team building exercise when no one was looking?" Jill asks affectionately.

"You bet your pretty little ass, Valentine." Kevin snorts.

"Sounds more fun than what I'm doing." She says bitterly.

"Doing what's right isn't fun. If the right thing was fun it wouldn't be right, it'd be what you do." Marvin says.

"And we're back to our regularly scheduled programming of Marvin being a goody-two shoes." Kevin teases. Looking at him, Jill comes to a slow realization before speaking.

"Hey, just so you know, STARS is hiring, and you may or may not be a solid candidate, Ryman. I know you've been trying for a while." Jill says, startled by the softness in his gaze.

"That… means a lot to me… But I've already accepted another position."

"Oh?"

"He's my second in command." Marvin smiles softly.

"No shit." She chuckles, "You're going to kick ass as Chief of Police. Clean up this city and all that."

"Thanks." Marvin smiles.

"Does that mean our very own, Jill Valentine is a STARS Captain?" Kevin asks.

"It does." She nods.

"So, happy endings all around?" Marvin smirks.

"Not even close, Umbrella has more operations to take out and this city is kind of a shit hole." Jill chuckles.

"Hey, that's _my _shithole you're talking about." Marvin nudges her with his shoulder.

"My apologies." She chuckles, "I should probably head back in, lots of crap to do."

"Us too." Kevin says, holding out a hand for her to shake. "Good work Captain."

"You too, Chief." She takes his hand to pull him in for a hug. Marvin doesn't need such convincing before they part ways.


	19. Chapter 19

Time is such an easy thing to lose, Jill is almost surprised by how hyper aware she is of what's going on around her. And in the eye of a perfect storm, Jill feels like something's about to give. What could possibly go wrong? What couldn't?

She has these thoughts as she flips absentmindedly through her new recruit's files. Eyes flicking through the lines of experience and qualifications, she nearly loses herself in the text.

"Jill?" Rebecca's tentative voice startles Jill back a bit, "Oh sorry, are you busy?"

Letting out a sigh Jill turns to Rebecca, "No, just waiting for the new guys. What's up?"

"Well… I uh… I wanted to talk to you about something." Jill gives her a look of concern, which Rebecca merely shakes her head to. "I don't know if I'm cut out for this."

"What do you mean?"

"The guys… We all watched a video our new boss sent us, of you in that mansion or whatever." Rebecca cradles herself for a second as she continues. "That's the scariest thing I've ever seen… I don't know if I could do _that_."

Placing a gentle hand on Rebecca's shoulder Jill sighs, "You're a medic, Rebecca, you won't be on the front lines like that."

"You can't make that a guarantee though." She's right, but Jill wishes she weren't. "Sooner or later I may have to face that, a monster, or worse – a person… I don't know if this is what I signed up for."

"Have you spoken to Enrico about this?"

Rebecca shakes her head, "I wanted to talk to you first."

"Are you hoping I'll convince you to stay? Or do you want me to tell you to go?"

"I don't know, I was just hoping for. I don't know, I thought maybe you'd just give some sage advice on what my next step should be."

Jill nods, picking up the files from the table and tapping them, "I'm not known for sage advice, Chambers. But if you want my opinion, you can handle anything, and I do mean anything."

"Even monsters?" Rebecca chuckles heavily.

"Even men." Jill smirks, "You have a lot of brain in that head of yours. You're smart, you're kind, you're beautiful, you've got a lot going for you. Whatever you decide, it's the right decision."

Rebecca gives her a sheepish smile that melts into astonishment. Before Jill can ask why, Randal from HR's voice interrupts.

"They're all yours Ms. Valentine." Randal hands her a clipboard to sign off a few documents. Leon and Billy stand at the ready, Billy seems to be teasing Leon by the way the younger blushes. When Jill looks up again handing back the clipboard, however, it's Billy who's blushing.

"Rebecca, these are our new Alpha team members. Billy Coen and Leon Kennedy." Jill pushes a still shocked Rebecca a fraction of an inch closer to them. "Leon, Billy, this is Rebecca Chambers. Bravo team medic."

"Nice to meet you." Leon immediately sticks out his hand to her.

"You too." Rebecca chokes out before turning to Billy. The two of them stare blankly at each other for a half second before Billy sticks out his hand.

"I'm excited to… looking forward to working together." He stumbles over his words.

"Me too…" Rebecca nods dumbly before noticing his hand. She shakes it quickly before stuttering, "I-… I should be getting back to work."

With that she rushes off back to the STARS office, Jill bites her lip to keep from saying anything too snarky. After all, she and Billy don't know each other… It's Leon who interjects.

"Oh, I'm the rookie, huh?" He folds his arms in good humor.

"Huh?" Billy asks, still shaken by his encounter with Rebecca.

"I can't say I've ever been stunned like that, and by a woman to boot." Leon chuckles.

"Oh your time will come kiddo." Jill snorts, "And you best believe you're getting hell for it when that day comes."

"Yes ma'am." He nods with a chuckle.

Jill gives a tour of the department, pointing out offices they'll be needing but ensuring them that Raccoon is only their temporary home for the time being. She notes the PD's change in leadership which prompts questions from the rookie.

"So… is it true?" Leon asks with a surprising amount of confidence.

"Innocent until proven guilty, I suppose, but if anyone's guilty to begin with, it's him." She sighs.

"How'd they catch him?"

"They had good cops on the case." She catches Marvin chuckle as she says this. "Something funny over there?"

"You're not an idle flatterer, Jill, let me enjoy it." He tips his coffee mug to her.

"That's your Chief of Police, he'll only be your boss for a little while though."

"Nobody likes a change in management." He laughs approaching the three of them. Leon looks nearly starstruck as he shakes his hand, Billy is still somewhat reeling from meeting Rebecca, and Marvin smirks at Jill when he sees them.

"Some recruits."

"Well, they're men, what can you expect." She folds her arms, earning a scowl from Billy.

"Chins up boys, Valentine's going to wreck you if you give her the chance."

"I thought that was inevitable regardless." Billy grumbles, all in good fun of course.

"It will be with a mouth like that." She teases, "Now let's get moving."

"STARS really brought Umbrella down then." Leon says, once Marvin is out of earshot.

"The RPD may just have brought down all of Raccoon City." Billy folds his arms.

"Neither of them have been 'brought down', we've got a long way to go before then. And you're going to help us get there."

"Yes ma'am!" Leon says enthusiastically.

"You've got a storm coming, kid." Billy chuckles.

"Even though you're right, that doesn't mean you get to be rude." Jill sighs walking them down to the STARS office.

"Don't go easy on him!" Billy snorts.

"Oh _I_ won't, but you will." She gives him a stern look. He relents near immediately, causing Leon to chuckle under his breath.

"The rest of STARS, I can't protect you from, so good luck." She opens the door to their office door.

The office banter is immediate and all consuming, Billy fits right in while Leon nervously bites his lip and chuckles through the teasing. The new guys acclimate well to their new positions as well as they're able, Jill genuinely can't believe she's the reason they're here.

Whoever said the big changes in life happen slowly clearly never met Jill Valentine. The world is such a wild and refreshingly random place, there is no guess work to be made. But this office is part of Jill's making, and she's about to make it a place she can be proud of. What do they call that again? Home?

As she's observing her handiwork she feels someone brush past her and only catches a glimpse of red hair before the shouting starts.

"What in the EVER-LIVING FUCK CHRIS REDFIELD!?" Claire slams her hands on his desk.

"Claire, what are you-"

"Unless you're going to explain to me why you've been ignoring my calls for DAYS I don't want to hear it!"

"_Shit_, I-"

"You better have a good fucking explanation for this!"

"You need to calm down!" Chris stands from his desk. Tone raising in volume as he does, a fatherly edge filtering into his voice.

"Me!? ME!? Are you KIDDING ME!?"

"Hey, hey, hey." Jill attempts to stand between the two.

"Stay out of this!" They yell in unison before directing their attention back to one another. The shouting match begins immediately after, neither listening to the other.

"Cut it out! Both of you!" Jill manages to get a word in. So sharp and fierce is her interjection the siblings pause. "I'm not about to have a fist fight breaking out in this office."

They both speak up to argue but she holds her hands up firmly, "I don't want to hear it."

"But-"

"Chris, sit down." She punctuates firmly, gaze firm and steely until he relents. "Claire, you need to cool off."

Claire mutely folds her arms but nods solemnly.

"Work this out, outside or when we get off. But not here, understood?" They both nod stubbornly. But it's enough for Jill, so she turns to her own desk and calls for the new recruits. She catches Claire's lingering gaze on the two of them until Chris gets up and leaves the office. She follows swiftly after, but not before passing a look over the rookie.

"Jill's such a good office mom." Richard chuckles.

"Get your MILF talk out of my office." Jill retorts with a laugh.

"No offense, but I respect you too much to want to fuck you." Edward laces his fingers behind his head, "Also-"

"We know, we know, your hot fiancée." Forest rolls his eyes.

"She is, isn't she?"

"You're a regular fisherman, Edward." Brad snorts.

"Hey listen, I'm about to be a married man! The end of the week is quickly approaching!" Edward starts his drabbling about the love his life, as he's done for the past three weeks. Jill would think it was sweet is she wasn't so goddamn tired of hearing about it.

Chris comes back into the office, looking a bit disheveled and like he's cried a bit, Jill passes him a gentle smile but says nothing. By the end of the day, they're all worked to death and the new guys have felt the full force of being STARS members.

Jill, Chris, and Rebecca are the last people in the office, Jill takes this time to continue their conversation from earlier as they get ready to leave.

"So, you still thinking of moving on?"

"Oh! That… uh…"

"Moving on? You've been on the job a week." Chris laughs.

"I know, that's why I've decided to stick it out." She says resolutely, "I can do this."

"Yes you can, but is that the only reason?" Jill teases.

"Well!... I uh…"

"I see." Jill chuckles, reaching for Chris's hand as she speaks. "I know you didn't ask for it, but if you want some advice-"

"God please." Rebecca sighs dramatically. Her face tinted pink even in the darkness of the office as they leave for the evening.

"Don't waste time." Jill says simply, gaze leading to where Billy's stood at the front desk. Probably waiting for a ride or something of that nature.

"Are you sure?" Rebecca asks.

"Of course, I am."

"Okay!" Rebecca bristles for a second before bounding over to Billy.

"What was that?" Chris asks.

"We can't have another engagement party fiasco on our hands." Jill chuckles. Watching Billy nod to Rebecca and her throwing her arms around his neck. "Thank me later."

"Tell him not me." Chris snickers.

"Technically, I did last time." She snorts.

"Oh as if." Chris rolls his eyes.

"Are you and Claire alright?" Jill asks.

"Yeah… I really should have called her sooner." He shakes his head.

"She is your only family, it's worth it."

"Not my only family." Chris laughs pulling her in for a hug.

"I guess you're right." Jill smiles into his chest, hoping that the contact between them never ends.


	20. Chapter 20

Edward's wedding is a beautiful event, all the works from a mashed potato bar to a killer DJ. The STARS members have an absolute ball, minus of course the newest members. Which is probably for the best, as Jill finds out later they all went out on a double date. Billy and Rebecca, with Leon and Claire, Chris does not know about the latter pair and Jill has no intention of telling him.

It's nearly a month since, Jill and Chris are in the process of moving into their new apartment. Claire, Leon, Barry, and Billy are down at the new place setting up, since technically it's also Claire's new apartment as well. Jill and Chris are gathering the last of their things from the bedroom.

"You've done like three last minute sweeps, you didn't forget anything, let's go." Chris complains by the door.

"Just the drawers and then we can." Jill chuckles. "I'm paranoid."

He sighs dramatically, "Five minutes."

He walks back out to the living room, Jill laughs as he goes before approaching the dresser. She's had a lot of good memories in this apartment and part of her is sad to see it go. Of course her thoughts of leaving are halted completely as she opens a drawer and spots a little black box in the back of it.

Gingerly she reaches out to pick it up, eyes wide and curious, this couldn't possibly be hers…

Once she opens the box her breath catches in her chest, a solitaire diamond ring sits innocently inside. Her mind goes blank as she stares at the ring, it certainly isn't hers, not yet at least. Thoughts running a mile a minute she looks around the room dumbly. Chris…

When she comes back to herself she feels a smug grin grow across her face and she walks to the living room.

"You done?" He smirks at her.

"You almost forgot this." She tosses the box at him.

Once he registers what it is he immediately gasps, "Fuck."

"Good thing I'm paranoid." Jill chuckles, folding her arms.

Chris stays silent, clearly embarrassed and shocked.

Jill holds up her hands, "I didn't see anything, don't worry… But she'll love it."

"Jill…" Chris shakes his head as he approaches her.

"Chris you don't-"

"Let me." He says getting down on one knee before her, "Because shit, Jill, this is exactly why you can't leave me."

She bursts out laughing as he says this, eyes tearing up despite herself, "At least you know it."

"That and you are the most amazing person and beautiful woman in the whole world. Even if I can't imagine why you picked me, I want you to stay forever."

"Chris." She covers her mouth, still chuckling and crying all at once.

"Will you marry me?"

"Of course, I will." She gets on her knees and wraps her arms around his neck.

He kisses her head, chuckling into her hair as they rock back and forth in their empty apartment. It's as perfect a proposal as she could have envisioned for herself, and an even more perfect fiancé to match. _Fucking fiancé._

"Let me put it on." He laughs.

"Okay." She chuckles with him pulling away enough to present him her hand.

"Jesus, you're shaking." He laughs again.

"So are you!" She teases as he slips the ring on her finger. It's a bit big, but it's perfect regardless, and she tells him as much when she can manage to speak.

"I told Claire I should have gone down a size." He snorts.

"Claire knows?" Jill asks.

"You remember that trip I took to go visit her?"

"You've been planning this for a while now?" Jill asks incredulously.

"To be fair, I knew I was going to marry you the second you told me I was the love of your life." He takes both of her hands in his, "I didn't know if you were a ring kind of girl… are you surprised?"

"I don't know if surprised is the right word, but I'm definitely over the moon." She says looking again at the plain, beautiful ring on her finger.

"Come on, at least tell me you're surprised I bought a ring."

"You got me there." Jill agrees.

"So… you mean it right? You really want to?" He asked nervously.

"Chris, I said yes, didn't I?"

"I'm just making sure."

"We've fought off zombies, our sexist boss, and the government, marriage will be a breeze." Jill assures him.

"With you, it will be." He agrees pulling her in for another kiss.

"Never give me shit for double checking our moves ever again." Jill teases.

"Yes ma'am." He complies before resuming their kiss. She is absolutely in awe of how much she loves him. He's silly, rude, and lacks self confidence around her, but somehow that only makes her love him more.

"Claire will wonder where we are." Jill says as he moves to become more intimate.

"Claire can wait, I have a fiancée to enjoy." He chuckles against her lips.

"And what about my enjoyment?" She laughs.

"I think you know that it's a Redfield guarantee by now." He bites her lower lip after he's said it, "And you're about to be one."

"You've got another thing coming if you think I'm taking your name." She whispers to his skin.

"We'll talk about that later." He resolves.

Later comes only after they've finished fucking on the floor as a goodbye to their apartment, though they don't make much headway on the conversation before they're in front of their new apartment complex.

Claire is the first to greet them as the enter the mostly furnished apartment.

"You guys okay? Ten minutes, my ass, you've been gone over an hour." She folds her arms and does her best to glare at the couple.

Jill wordlessly approaches her future sister-in-law and holds out her hand to her.

"OH MY GOD!" Claire screeches yanking Jill into a hug.

The guys rush out of the bedroom, where they'd been building furniture, to check out the commotion.

"Everything okay?" Leon asks, ever the calm amidst the chaos.

"They're getting married!" Claire squeaks again this time holding and observing Jill's hand.

"Wait, really?" Barry asks with a laugh.

Chris nods to him, "Yes we are."

The STARS members pile onto Chris, congratulating the happy couple with as much enthusiasm as humanly possible.

Jill and Chris, the kind of people who think they aren't worthy of love or that they somehow are incapable. Found that very thing in one another, and they've made a promise to never let that go.


End file.
